GEORGIA: The US government is moving decisively to prevent a planned expedition to retrieve artefacts from the Titanic wreck next year, citing federal law and an international pact that recognize the shipwreck as a revered burial site.
The expedition is organized by RMS Titanic Inc. (RMST), the Georgia-based company that holds the rights to salvage the world’s most famous shipwreck. This company displays artefacts that have been recovered from a site resting in the depths of the North Atlantic, including items ranging from silver to part of the Titanic’s hull.
According to American daily, the federal government is taking legal action to gain control over who can retrieve artefacts from the legendary ship, possibly blocking an expedition planned for next year. The move comes as the June 18 disaster of the Titan submarine raised questions about who controls access to the remains of the ship, which lie more than two miles on the North Atlantic seabed.
The US government is moving decisively to prevent a planned expedition to retrieve artefacts from the Titanic wreck next year, citing federal law and an international pact that recognize the shipwreck as a revered burial site.
The expedition is organized by RMS Titanic Inc. (RMST), the Georgia-based company that holds the rights to salvage the world’s most famous shipwreck. This company displays artefacts that have been recovered from a site resting in the depths of the North Atlantic, including items ranging from silver to part of the Titanic’s hull.
The federal government is now trying to side with the rescue case and block any expedition it deems undesirable. It seeks the legal right for the Secretary of Commerce and its naval arm, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, to approve or deny the RMS Titanic’s permit whenever “the company” asks the court for permission to conduct additional artefact finds. news output.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Ole Varmer, a former NOAA attorney who specializes in shipwreck protection, told the NYT.
The federal government, he added, “was forced to step in as a party and ask the court to enforce these laws.”
In 1912, during her inaugural voyage from Southampton to New York, the ship struck an iceberg and subsequently sank, resulting in the tragic loss of more than 1,500 lives among the 2,208 passengers and crew on board.
One of the main concerns of the US government is the potential disturbance of any human remains that may still be present.
