Scientists claim the bacteria that is destroying the wreck has now evolved and has increased the rate of damage. They e
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mcdemuth — 9 years ago(September 14, 2016 08:59 AM)
When it comes to all these divers and salvagers
I don't think it is disrespectful for teams to
1.) Document the wreck, to investigate why and how it sank, research how something like a clock could remain on a fireplace mantle when it collided with the seabed, and how the environment is affecting the ship.
2.) Salvage items for the purpose of displaying them in museums to keep the memory of the tragedy in the minds of new generations, and educate everyone on what happened and why.
If a documentary company like National Geographic wants to sponsor expeditions to the wreck, with the overall purpose of doing documentation and research, and if they can make some money afterward with media rights for documentaries and so on, that's fine.
If after the expeditions return, if some museum decides to award a "finders fee" (which I have heard is something like 10%), to the team for the "few" random artifacts they recovered while they just happened to be down there, then I think is OK too.
But I do think it is disrespectful, when a group goes down there intentionally looking for "treasure", with the intent of bringing it back to the surface and selling it on the black market in hopes of becoming millionaires, and possibly all the while, showing no respect for the wreck itself, by damaging it. Now that is just plain wrong.
As for the mail, I am not sure if it would be worth the cost to recover any of it
Anyone who wrote the mail, or who it was supposed to be delivered to IS DEAD. Nothing that was written in that mail, unless it was a "post card" mailed on board the ship, would even involve the ship and the sinking It would be like reading the mail of somebody you never met before. Even if it was an ancestor. Most of what was said would not mean anything to you. And all that is assuming the mail is in pristine condition, and is readable.
I don't know why it should be done. What would be gained by recovering it?
If it were me, I wouldn't pay anyone to recover it. -
palisade-1 — 9 years ago(September 14, 2016 12:08 PM)
I don't think it is disrespectful for teams to
1.) Document the wreck, to investigate why and how it sank, research how something like a clock could remain on a fireplace mantle when it collided with the seabed, and how the environment is affecting the ship.
2.) Salvage items for the purpose of displaying them in museums to keep the memory of the tragedy in the minds of new generations, and educate everyone on what happened and why.
If a documentary company like National Geographic wants to sponsor expeditions to the wreck, with the overall purpose of doing documentation and research, and if they can make some money afterward with media rights for documentaries and so on, that's fine.
That kind of research such as what you suggest has been going on under the direction of RMS TItanic Inc. (the salvors in possession of the
Titanic
wreck site and the only ones entitled to remove anything from that site), in partnership with other organizations, including National Geographic, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI), the Discovery Channel and the French organization IFREMER, among others.
The fees from the RMS Titanic Inc exhibits and exhibitions (which travel the world but have a home base in Las Vegas) go in part towards financing this research. They have so far been forbidden to sell artifacts (they do sell souvenir lumps of coal from the Titanic wreck site, which are apparently excluded from the category of artifact).
Removing items from the
interior
is a whole different story, not only legally (at present it is forbidden) but technically. Cameron had enough trouble getting his little bots out of there, let along dragging or trying to carry clocks and artifacts, which the little robots can't do. They have been painstakingly documenting both the entire debris field of the ship and the interior parts that can be reached and filmed.
So most of what you would like to see (that is within the realm of the possible at this time) is being done. -
Jazzomaniac — 9 years ago(September 14, 2016 01:33 PM)
I understand the main reason why hundreds of artefacts have already been recovered and exhibited is that the items salvaged are of historical interest into daily life in 1912. They have little or no importance in the actual disaster. People come to museums primarily to see how people used to live. They have no actual personal connection. Museums are filled with basically curious people who want to understand what life in those days was like. Survivor Eva Hart said she did not agree with the idea of salvaging and displaying pots and pans because everyone knows what they look like in their kitchen and they hold no importance when researching that era. I think however recovering the sacks of mail would be a most significant find. It would show the present generation and future generations how people used to live, and how they would address their emotions and affections on paper, from the wealthiest to the poorest.
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Jrdmln — 9 years ago(September 24, 2016 03:19 PM)
I'm not sure if I believe that the wreck of the Titanic will collapse in exactly 14 years. It probably won't be too long before it collapses since the wreck is not in good condition, but it may be longer than 14 years before it collapses. Too bad the wreck is in such bad condition.
