US Government Ends Legal Fight Against Titanic Expedition, But Future Battles Possible

The US government has officially ended its legal battle against an upcoming expedition to the Titanic shipwreck after the company that owns the salvage rights scaled back its dive plans. However, the US has warned that it may still challenge future expeditions if they violate federal law and an agreement with Great Britain to treat the wreck as a grave site.

The litigation began last year when RMS Titanic Inc announced plans for an expedition to the Titanic, scheduled for mid-July. The company originally intended to take images inside the ship’s hull and retrieve artefacts from the debris field, including objects from the room where distress signals were broadcast.

The US government filed a legal challenge in August, arguing that entering the Titanic or disturbing the wreck is regulated by a federal law and agreement with Britain, both of which consider the site a memorial to the more than 1,500 people who died in the 1912 disaster.

RMST has since revised its dive plans, following the death of its director of underwater research in a submersible implosion near the Titanic wreck. The company now plans to send an uncrewed submersible to the site for external imaging only, without attempting artefact recovery or penetration imaging.

While the US government has ended its legal efforts against the upcoming expedition, it has left the door open for future challenges. The government expressed concerns about the possible disturbance of artefacts and human remains on the seabed, and noted that RMST’s longer-term objectives still involve retrieving objects from inside the wreck.

US District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith, who presides over Titanic salvage matters, has raised questions about the government’s jurisdiction over the wreck. She previously granted RMST permission to retrieve and exhibit the ship’s distress call radio, prompting the government’s legal challenge.

With the Titanic rapidly deteriorating, time may be running out for expeditions inside the wreck. The legal battle between RMST and the US government highlights the complex legal and ethical issues surrounding the preservation of historic shipwrecks.