Titanic: First ever full-sized scans reveal wreck as never seen before

[Wilf]

Ok thanks for the article. Either I missed it or had forgotten. One thing I never really understood is how one country can take over a wreck in international waters especially when that ship was from another country. I guess when you have the most powerful navy in the world you can do whatever you want. Cheers.

Don't forget Titanic was only registered in Great Britain, she was owned by the American International Mercantile Marine Co (IMM). In 1994 RMS Titanic Inc became the salvor-in-possession under international conventions on salvage. The is a bilateral agreement between the US and UK to protect the fabric of the wreck made in 1993 and ratified only in 2020, and the site was listed as a UNESCO protected underwater cultural site in 2012 (once it became eligible after 100 years). All of which is too tedious (and off topic) to explain in any more detail here!

Will

 

[Steven Christian]

Don't forget Titanic was only registered in Great Britain, she was owned by the American International Mercantile Marine Co (IMM). In 1994 RMS Titanic Inc became the salvor-in-possession under international conventions on salvage. The is a bilateral agreement between the US and UK to protect the fabric of the wreck made in 1993 and ratified only in 2020, and the site was listed as a UNESCO protected underwater cultural site in 2012 (once it became eligible after 100 years). All of which is too tedious (and off topic) to explain in any more detail here!

Will

Ok. Thanks for the info. Yes probably lots of legal jargon that belongs in another thread. Cheers.

 

[Steven Christian]

I am fascinated that one of the propellers can be seen as when the Titanic was discovered in 1985 they were buried deep! How much more is no visible or now covered by the shifting sands of time?
Also am I alone in being irritated by the caption 'Radio Room'? It was never called that at the time. You sent Marconigraphs! Radio is a relatively modern term, especially in UK where wireless was more common.

Radio and wireless were terms that were often used together. Even before Titanic. In legal documents/treaties messages were called radiograms. There were other companies besides Marconi. "Wireless" was the most common term early on but I wouldn't say "radio room" was never used.

Regulations Governing Radio Communication: September 28, 1912

 

[KevinM]

Here are some more images and a short video Courtesy of Atlantic/Magellan. Hopefully more will become available in due course.
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Instagram: @atlantic.productions : Twitter: @atlanticprods

Is it just me, or does it seem as if there is still some black paint on the bow? I'm not sure if the scans they collected were only dimensional scans, or if they also collected color data.
But I think there is some credence to the idea that paint can still be found on some parts of the wreck. The big piece that was recovered had some anti-fowling paint still there. Not to mention that the mud on the sea floor is (nearly) anaerobic, meaning that there is little to no oxygen in the mud, thus preserving the paint. Theoretically, if you were to remove some of the mud that is burying the bow, you should still be able to see well-preserved black paint.

 

[Guillaume D.]

Anyone knows if will the complete source or the file assembly one day be accessible to the public?

 

[Alan Smithee]

Someone clever will figure out how to combine these scans with Titanic H&G. That will be cool.

 

[Mike Bull2019]

I am fascinated that one of the propellers can be seen as when the Titanic was discovered in 1985 they were buried deep! How much more is no visible or now covered by the shifting sands of time?
Also am I alone in being irritated by the caption 'Radio Room'? It was never called that at the time. You sent Marconigraphs! Radio is a relatively modern term, especially in UK where wireless was more common.

No, Ballard only saw the trailing edge of the rudder in '86 and he totally missed the props; the first French salvage team saw at least one of the props in '87 and both wing propellers have always been visible, as both are wrenched way up out of place.

 

[Pegglesworth]

No, Ballard only saw the trailing edge of the rudder in '86 and he totally missed the props; the first French salvage team saw at least one of the props in '87 and both wing propellers have always been visible, as both are wrenched way up out of place.

Interesting, I had never heard that before. Thanks

 

[Harrison Bland]

The shell plating near the keel is looking badly buckled, particularly on the port side.

 

[mtceegee]

Exciting news! I wonder if the high resolution scans will eventually become publicly available? Would love to be able to do a custom fly-by or zoom into specific areas of the wreck. I realize Atlantic Productions is a commercial operation and will likely require at least a few years to cover the costs of their work.

 

[Steven Christian]

The shell plating near the keel is looking badly buckled, particularly on the port side.

I was going to comment on that too but refrained because I wasn't sure what I was seeing. I guess it looks that way to you too.

 

[Bags]

Ok.. new pics up from the depths of the Atlantic.. Sam.. Michael... Any thoughts? New POI? And bloody heck, I'm dying to see the condition of the the shield plating and keel under that gaping hole in the starboard side of the bow.

Sidebar; Has anyone taken any shots of the infrastructure of the stern section? I'm wondering how much damage may have been done on the way down and at landing to account for the... rather liberal distribution of artifacts and the shield/deck plating on that section..

Cordially in a weird absentia,

Derek

 

[Gordon Mooneyhan]

Ok.. new pics up from the depths of the Atlantic.. Sam.. Michael... Any thoughts? New POI? And bloody heck, I'm dying to see the condition of the the shield plating and keel under that gaping hole in the starboard side of the bow.

Sidebar; Has anyone taken any shots of the infrastructure of the stern section? I'm wondering how much damage may have been done on the way down and at landing to account for the... rather liberal distribution of artifacts and the shield/deck plating on that section..

Cordially in a weird absentia,

Derek

I suspect the damage to the stern happened upon impact with the sea floor. As for why there was so much damage, I believe it was due to the stern section losing most of its structural integrity when the ship broke into two pieces.

 

[Bags]

I suspect the damage to the stern happened upon impact with the sea floor. As for why there was so much damage, I believe it was due to the stern section losing most of its structural integrity when the ship broke into two pieces.

I half a agree.. given the structural integrity of the bow section (aft end) very certainly some of it came from impact. I don't believe the total carnage we can see in the new photos is solely due to impact and decomp.

I suspect that a percentage, possibly a large percentage, of the structural integrity of the stern section was compromised by 'explosive decompression' of trapped air pockets caused by the relatively rapid foundering of the stern section.. IIRC about a half hour vs. the nearly 2 hours it took the bow to flood, sink, and separate. The condition of the deck/shell plating is what leads me to this possibility. (as compared to the deck/shell plating of the aft end of the bow section)

Regards,

Derek

 

[Rose F.]

I never realised just how much the stern was flattened. My mental image of it was always based on Ken Marschall's paintings of it from the late 80's, wherein it still had some vestige of volume to it.