US government looks to block planned Titanic expedition

The United States government has filed a legal challenge to a planned expedition to the remains of the Titanic. While the challenge comes just months after the Titan submersible imploded on its way to the remains, the planned expedition is unrelated.

This case involves RMS Titanic Inc., the Georgia-based firm that owns the salvage rights to the famous shipwreck. The company exhibits artifacts that have been recovered from the wreck site at the bottom of the North Atlantic, from silverware to a piece of the Titanic’s hull.

According to the company, the planned Titanic expedition the government is looking to block involves taking images of the entire wreck. This includes “inside the wreck where deterioration has opened chasms sufficient to permit a remotely operated vehicle to penetrate the hull without interfering with the current structure.”

The expedition is planned for May of 2024.

The legal battle over the expedition hinges instead on federal law, as well as a pact with the United Kingdom to treat the sunken Titanic as a memorial to the more than 1,500 people who died. The U.S. government argued entering the Titanic’s hull or disturbing the wreck is regulated under said pact and agreement.

“RMST is not free to disregard this validly enacted federal law, yet that is its stated intent,” U.S. lawyers argued in court documents filed Friday. They added that the shipwreck “will be deprived of the protections Congress granted it.”

The company has not filed a response in court. However in previous cases, it has challenged the constitutionality of U.S. efforts to “infringe” on its salvage rights to a wreck in international waters.