Titanic Wreck Gets Unesco Protection

I00 year anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.... April 12th 1912

This is the iceburg that sank the Titanic

The wreck of the Titanic is to come under the protection of the United Nations cultural agency Unesco. The agency says more than 700 divers have visited the site, 4,000m under water off the coast of Canada.

The ship will fall under the 2001 Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage once it passes the 100th anniversary of its sinking on 15 April. The convention aims to prevent unscientific or unethical exploration.

Irina Bokova, director-general of Unesco, said the sinking of the Titanic was "anchored in the memory of humanity" and it was important to protect the site where 1,500 people lost their lives. "There are thousands of other shipwrecks that need safeguarding as well... We do not tolerate the plundering of cultural sites on land, and the same should be true for our sunken heritage," she added.

The 2001 convention only protects vessels that sank more than a century ago. The Titanic, built in Belfast, sank on its maiden voyage after setting off from the British port of Southampton. It hit an iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada en route to New York, sinking two-and-a-half hours later.

Titanic Wreckage and Artifacts
The Titanic wreckage was thought to be at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean until it was discovered on September 1, 1985 by a French/American expedition using side-scan sonar for the vessel Knorr. The Titanic wreckage was 2.5 miles down and about 370 miles from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland.

Dr. Robert Ballard, who was part of the first expedition, returned in 1986 for the first manned dive into the wreckage in the submersible Alvin. The most astounding discovery of the time was that the Titanic had actually split apart despite what was originally assumed. Plates, chairs, and other Titanic artifacts are scattered all around the wreckage, while softer material such as wood and human remains have been devoured by underwater organisms. Dr. Ballard originally did not bring up any Titanic artifacts due to the fact that he saw this action as the equivalent of grave robbing, but many were eventually recovered and put on display at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England or part of a traveling exhibition.

Titanic wreckage has remained relatively stationary, but scientists believe that the multiple expeditions have caused extensive damage to the shipwreck and believe that the Titanic wreckage will collapse to the ocean floor within the next 50 years due to extensive damage caused by tourism and exploration. The mast has almost completely deteriorated and has been stripped of its bell and brass light. Other damage includes a gash on the bow section where block letters once spelled Titanic, part of the brass telemotor which once held the ship’s wooden wheel is now twisted and the crow’s nest is completely deteriorated.

This kind of vandalism is one of the reasons the Titanic must be protected. Titanic artifacts sell for large sums and the wreck is still a treasure trove for salvagers and souvenir seekers, having an extensive field of scattered artifacts. Let us hope that Unesco can provide some kind of protection for the site. It may, however,  prove  very hard to enforce.