New images from the wreck of the Titanic show the historic ship is rapidly deteriorating in the murky depths of the Atlantic. But it isn’t all bad news for the forlorn vessel; the recent expedition has taken photographs of a beautiful statue that many feared had been lost to the seas.
RMS Titanic Inc., an Atlanta-based company that has exclusive rights to salvage the wreck, has recently carried out a 20-day expedition to explore the ship’s resting place and returned with over 2 million images of the highest resolution to date.
The team also used LiDAR, sonar, and a hypermagnetometer to fully document the historic site before it crumbles into dust and rust.
The imagery shows a significant section of the railing surrounding the Bow’s forecastle deck – where Jack and Rose famously stood in the 1997 blockbuster – has broken off since it was last imaged in 2022.
Previous images of the RMS Titanic, such as this one photographed in June 2004, show the bow railings intact.
Image credit: NOAA/IFE/URI
Their cameras also captured the sight of the “Diana of Versailles,” a bronze statue last seen in 1986 that most experts worried had been destroyed or lost forever. The sculpture was originally placed in the Titanic’s first-class lounge and was a replica of a larger statue of Diana, the Roman goddess of nature, hunters, and wildlife, known in Greek mythology as Artemis.
“RMS Titanic, Inc. is thrilled to share the first images and remarkable discoveries from our 2024 Expedition,” Tomasina Ray, Director of Collections at RMS Titanic Inc., said in a statement sent to IFLScience.
“The discovery of the statue of Diana was an exciting moment. But we are saddened by the loss of the iconic Bow railing and other evidence of decay which has only strengthened our commitment to preserving Titanic’s legacy,” Ray added.
The recent expedition captured the sight of the bronze statue “Diana of Versailles”.
Image courtesy of RMS Titanic Inc.
RMS Titanic sunk in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912, after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton in England to New York City. Out of its 2,240 passengers and crew, just 706 people survived.
The site of the wreck was rediscovered in 1985, located some 700 kilometers (435 miles) off the east coast of Canada at a depth of around 3,800 meters (12,500 feet) below the water’s surface.
Since 1994, RMS Titanic Inc. has salvaged thousands of objects from the site, including a host of maritime relics, china plates, clothing, ornate jewelry, and other personal items.
However, the latest venture did not retrieve any artifacts following trouble with the law in recent years. Many have also questioned whether it was ethically sound to plunder the belongings of people who had died in a tragic accident.
The recent project is the first journey to the sunken site since the infamous OceanGate submersible accident of June 2023. All five people on board were killed instantly, including the director of research at RMS Titanic Inc., Paul-Henri “PH” Nargeolet, who was set to lead this latest expedition until his untimely death.
Despite the incident, interest in the doomed ocean liner hasn’t dried up. In May 2024, Patrick Lahey – the co-founder and CEO of Triton Submarines – and Larry Connor – a 74-year-old real-estate investor from Ohio – announced they were planning to travel to the seabed and carry out a scientific study of the Titanic.
