RMS Titanic Inc., a Georgia-based company with salvage rights to the wreck of the Titanic, recently completed its first expedition to the site since 2010. Among the discoveries made on this expedition was the bronze statue “Diana of Versaille,” which had not been seen in decades. The company also found that a significant section of the railing surrounding the ship’s bow forecastle deck had fallen, showing evidence of decay.
The expedition took place as the U.S. Coast Guard investigates the implosion of the Titan, an experimental submersible owned by another company, which killed all five people on board, including Paul-Henri Nargeolet, the director of underwater research for RMS Titanic. The crew spent 20 days at the site, capturing over 2 million high-resolution images of the wreck and fully mapping its debris field.
The company plans to process the data collected on the expedition to share with the scientific community and identify historically significant artifacts for safe recovery in future expeditions. Tomasina Ray, the director of collections for RMS Titanic, expressed both excitement over the rediscovery of the statue of Diana and sadness over the loss of the iconic bow railing. The company’s mission is to preserve the legacy of the Titanic despite the evidence of decay found on the latest expedition. This information will be shared at public hearings later in September.
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Photo credit www.boston.com
