US fights new Titanic recovery expedition arguing wreck is gravesite

The U.S. government is attempting to stop a planned expedition to recover artifacts from the Titanic by arguing that the voyage would violate federal law and an international agreement that treat the wreck as a gravesite.

The RMS Titanic Inc., a Georgia-based company that owns the salvage rights to the infamous shipwreck, is organizing the expedition with a tentative date of May 2024, according to The Associated Press. The company exhibits artifacts recovered from the North Atlantic wreck, featuring items ranging from silverware to part of the ship's hull.

The government argued in a filing Friday in federal court that the company would be disregarding federal law and a treaty with the United Kingdom if it physically altered or disturbed the wreck.

"RMST is not free to disregard this validly enacted federal law, yet that is its stated intent," the U.S. lawyers argued. 

The legal challenge comes after OceanGate's Titan submersible imploded near the Titanic, killing five people in June. However, the U.S. government opposed Titanic expeditions years before the Titan tragedy.

For example, in 2020 the government became involved in another legal battle against the RMS Titanic Inc. to stop the company from retrieving the Titanic's telegraph machine. The corporation ultimately scrapped those plans due to difficulties faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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