TITANIC NEWS (1) - Titanic photo shows evidence of human remains

Titanic photo shows evidence of human remains

A newly released photo from the North Atlantic site of the shipwrecked RMS Titanic shows evidence of human remains, federal officials are saying.

"RETURN TO TITANIC" MEETS SCIENCE OBJECTIVES,
REMINDS ALL THAT WRECK SITE IS HALLOWED GROUND
Expedition Ends Just Prior to U.S. Signing of Titanic Agreement

June 21, 2004 — When NOAA co-sponsored Return to Titanic, a scientific expedition to the site of arguably the world's most memorable shipwreck, the team of explorers and scientists sent their underwater robots to gather scientific data 12,000 feet deep. The mission was to learn how, and how quickly, Titanic was deteriorating from natural and human causes. However, pairs of shoes, suitcases and galley dishes that lie in the debris field were powerful reminders that this is hallowed ground. That’s why steps were taken to protect the wreck. (Click image for larger view of the shoes of a Titanic victim photographed in a debris field near the stern of the ship on June 6, 2004, by the ROV Hercules during an expedition returning to the Titanic, launched from the NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown.

The expedition included Robert D. Ballard, who discovered the historic wreck in 1985 and who today still has strong feelings about protecting the site. NOAA took a step to further protect Titanic in April 2001 when, in accordance with the Titanic Maritime Memorial Act, NOAA published "Guidelines for Research, Exploration and Salvage of RMS Titanic." Though the guidelines provided a model of conduct based on international archaeological standards, they were voluntary guidelines, without enforcement authority.

The protection of Titanic took a major step forward Friday just after the Return to Titanic mission concluded, when the U.S. ambassador in London signed an international agreement that will lead to enforcement authority and increased protection of the wreck site. When Congress passes enabling legislation, the agreement will come into force for the U.S. It will realize a goal long sought by Ballard and will provide for the signing nations, an international extension of NOAA's 2001 guidelines, but this time with law enforcement power replacing voluntary guidelines. (Click image for larger view of the starboard railing near the bow of the Titanic photographed on June 1, 2004, by the ROV Hercules during an expedition returning to the shipwreck of the Titanic.

NOAA leadership on this issue dates to 1985 when Nancy Foster, former assistant administrator of the NOAA Ocean Service, testified before Congress on a House Resolution to protect Titanic. "This agreement has potential as a model for protection of other shipwrecks and submerged marine resources well beyond the territorial jurisdiction of nations," said NOAA General Counsel Jim Walpole.

NOAA also played a significant role on the U.S. delegation during negotiation of the agreement by the four nations most closely associated with Titanic—the United States, Canada, France and the United Kingdom, which signed the agreement in November 2003. The agreement must be ratified by at least two of those nations to be effective. Concerted action by these countries would effectively foreclose unregulated salvage and other potentially harmful activities that would disturb the integrity of the wreck site. (Click image for larger view of a port side forward expansion joint on the boat deck of the bow section of the shipwreck Titanic as photographed June 1, 2004, by ROV Hercules deployed from the NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown.

Under the agreement, Titanic will be designated an international maritime memorial to those who perished there and whose remains should be respected. It will also protect the scientific, cultural and historical significance of the wreck site by regulating, within the jurisdiction of the signatories, dives to the Titanic shipwreck.

The Titanic Maritime Memorial Act was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1986 and directs the Department of State to forward the signed agreement and recommended implementing legislation to Congress. The agreement does not apply to the existing collection of 6,000 Titanic artifacts that have already been salvaged pursuant to admiralty court orders, but it is consistent with those orders as well as current scientific principles of historic and cultural resource conservation.

The 2004 return trip to Titanic was not an easy one. The explorers and the crew of NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown battled weather so difficult it sometimes kept the remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs) lashed to the deck of the tossing ship when they should have been relocating Titanic or gathering scientific data and images of the wreck. When the sea state did allow operations, technical problems with the underwater robots or electrical glitches in their long umbilical cords caused further delays.

Technicians from Ballard's Institute for Exploration soon had the ROVs ready for deployment, and when "windows" of good weather appeared, the underwater robots began their four-hour dive to the deep cold waters where the remains of the great ship and more than 1,500 of her crewmembers and passengers lie.

Copy from NOAA Magazine (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Credit NOAA / Institute for Exploration/University of Rhode Island or NOAA—IFE/URI.)