Managing Titanic byDoiOO"O'R,g~
T
he April centennial of the sinking of RMS Titanic brought the story back into headline news, covering every angle, from survivors' stories and recovered artifacts to a memorial cruise and a re-release of the blockbuster James Cameron movie Titanic. During this time, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry introduced new legislation to amend the RMS Titanic Memorial Act of 1986 to give the shipwreck and its artifacts more federal protection. Legal control of the sire, however, is complicated. Nor only do opinions vary considerably on how to manage the sire and its artifacts, bur the shipwreck lies outside US territo rial waters, making it challenging to claim jurisdiction over the sire. Since the wreck was discovered in 1985 by Robert Ballard and a ream of French and American scientists, hundreds of people have made dives to the wreck sire, nearly 2.5 miles below the surface, in deepwarer submersibles. Dr. Ballard has been advocati ng the sire's preservation. Evidence of injury to the ship, both by co ntact of submersibles with the wreck and by looting of artifacts, can be seen by comparing photos from earlier visits to the sire to more recent photo documentation. In a recent interview, he likened the experience to visiting other historic sires: "You don't go to Gerrysburg with a shovel. You don't rake belt buckles off the Arizona. So, visit, bur don't touch." He may have found it, bur he doesn't control it. Does anyo ne? RMS Titanic was insured for ÂŁ 1 million when it set sail, and the insurers paid this figure to the White Star Line. In theory, the insurance compan ies who paid the claim own the ship and its machinery, bur not the personal properry of the passengers and crew. Titanic artifacts have been recovered, initially by some of the crew of the cable ships sent out to pick up the bodies of rhe victims still floating in the North Atlantic, and later by those on the multiple trips to the wreck itself. RMS T itanic, Inc., has had "salvor-in-possession" rights to the wreck since 1994. More than 5,500 artifacts are on auction at a New York auction house right now, including
38
rhe 17-ton "Big Piece" section of Titanic's hull. By law (US), that collection has to be kept intact and portions of the collection must be made available for public viewing (other restrictions, or "covenants," apply). There are major differences in opinion on how to manage both the sire and its artifacts. Some see it as a grave site that should be respected by essentially leaving it alone or by limiting access. The director of the Maritime Heritage Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), James Delgado, said in a recent interview rhar he is certain there are human remains inside the ship. NOAA recently released a photo from a 2004 expedition that shows a boot and coat on the sea floor, suggesting the resting place of a Titanic victim, even if rhere are no human remains visible. Because rhe interior spaces have been cut off from oxygen and scavengers, any human
Deparrment-NOAA's parent agency, which monitors the wreck sire. Officials have long agreed that the 1986 law has no teeth, and according to Senator Kerry, his bill (S. 2279) would "(l) [provide] the United Stares Department of Commerce with rhe aurhori ry to protect rhe Titanic wreck sire from salvage and imrusive research; (2) provide aurhoriry to monitor and enforce specific scientific rules to protect the public's interest in the wreck sire and collection; and (3) propose the establishment of a Titanic Advisory Council, modeled on advisory councils previously established under the National M arine Sanctuaries Act." NOAA's website outlining the existing and proposed legislation is at www.gc.noaa.gov/gci l_ titanic.html; you can track rhe bill on rhe Library of Congress website at http:// rhomas.loc.gov, by ryping in a search for "S2279."
This 2004 photo shows a boot and possibly a coat on the sea floor at the Titanic wreck site.
remains inside could be in a high state of Upon the lOOrh anniversary of its preservation. Other visitors to the wreck, sinking, the Titanic also came under including James Cameron, who has made the 2001 UNESC0 1 Convention on 33 dives to rhe site, say they have never the Protection of Underwater Cultural seen human remains there--evidence of Heritage. This international treary provides people, but not bodies. They question rhe guidelines for investigation and gives assertion that hundreds of intact human parries to the convention the aurhoriry remains are within and think that the to seize illegally obtained artifacts and government is simply using rhe grave site close their ports to vessels undertaking argument as a means to res trict access. The exploration not conducted in accordance with the principles of rhe convention. debate is complicated and ongoing. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan Information on the UNESCO Convention signed rhe RMS Titanic Maritime Mem- is available at www.unesco.org/new/en/ orial Act into law, establishing guidelines cul tu re/ themes/ und e rwater-cul tu ra lfor exploratio n of rhe sire and any recovery heritage/2001-convention/. ,!, efforrs. This bill prohibits removing, injuring, or selling any Titanic arrifacts I UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, wirhour a permit from the US Commerce. Scientific arud C ultural Organization. SEA HISTORY 139, SUMMER 2012