RMS Titanic, Inc. (RMST) will not return to the Titanic wreckage in 2025, concluding a legal dispute with the US government. While RMST hasn't ruled out future expeditions, its recent mission highlighted the urgency of artifact conservation as the Titanic continues to deteriorate. The company recovered thousands of artifacts since 1994, but experts predict most of the ship will disintegrate within decades.
Only the company legally permitted to salvage artifacts from the Titanic has confirmed it will not return to the wreckage in 2025. The decision also ends a yearslong legal battle with the US government that began before the COVID-19 pandemic. But while RMS Titanic, Inc. ( RMST ) isn’t ruling out future expeditions entirely, its most recent visit underscored that time is running out for conservationists.
Since the US granted RMST sole “salvor-in-possession” rights in 1994, RMST has conducted a total of eight excursions to the luxury liner’s historic resting place at the bottom of the North Atlantic. These operations have resulted in the recovery and conservation of thousands of items, including silverware, clothing, passengers’ personal effects, and a section of the hull. Its most recent mission took place over 20 days in July 2024, resulting in over two million high-resolution videos and photographs. Most notably, however, was RMST’s confirmation that a portion of the forecastle deck’s bow railing (made famous in James Cameron’s Titanic) had disintegrated. Experts estimate the majority of the Titanic will disintegrate within the next few decades.According to the Associated Press, the US government decided to withdraw its motion to intervene in a federal admiralty court on January 10th, citing RMST’s decision to scrap recovery dive plans dating back to 2020. The expedition-in-question was originally intended to not only document the wreckage’s status, but bring back historically valuable artifacts that have spent over 112 years exposed to the crushing depth pressures and corrosive waters approximately 12,500 feet below the ocean’s surface. The Georgia-based company was particularly focused on retrieving items from the Titanic’s Marconi room. The space is named for its Marconi wireless telegraph machine, which crew used to signal the ship’s distress calls in Morse code. Past evidence showed the telegraph resting near the grand staircase in a deck house. At the time, the plan was to guide an uncrewed robotic submersible to the machine, either through an open skylight or by cutting open a small portion of the corroded roof. Once the team located the radio, handlers would then use the submersible’s suction dredge to remove any surrounding silt while manipulator arms severed its electrical cords. Although a US District Court judge initially approved RMST’s plans in 2020, the US government quickly challenged the ruling. According to the complaint, RMST’s telegraph recovery strategy violated a federal law passed in 2017 banning any future exploration that “entered the hull,” an umbrella phrase for disturbing any of the Titanic’s physical remains. The subsequent onset of the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the case from ever actually going to court. Following the 2023 Oceangate Titan submersible implosion, RMST announced its forthcoming voyage would only involve recording external images and video. The controversial trip resulted in the death of all five passengers, including Oceangate’s CEO, Stockton Rush, and RMST’s director of underwater research, Paul-Henri Nargeolet. The AP notes that RMST will not visit the wreck this year and has no definitive plans for future missions. At the same time, the company isn’t ruling out a return—potentially one that brings back additional artifacts before they are lost for good. “We diligently consider the strategic, legal, and financial implications of conducting future salvage operations at the site,” the company wrote at the time. But regardless of what happens in the future, the US government made clear it would be paying attention. “Should future circumstances warrant, the United States will file a new motion to intervene based on the facts then existing,” federal lawyers wrote in their filing last week
TITANIC SALVAGE RMST ARCHEOLOGY UNDERWATER EXPLORATION HISTORICAL PRESERVATION
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
14 lessons from 2025 to remember in 2025: BofA14 lessons from 2025 to remember in 2025: BofA
Read more »
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Anime Gets April 2025 Premiere & Final Season Set for Fall 2025My Hero Academia, one of the most popular anime franchises in recent years, is getting both a spin-off anime and its final season. The spin-off, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, will premiere in April 2025. The final season of the main series is set to air in autumn 2025
Read more »
Frankencar 2025: The best of the Motor Authority Best Car To Buy 2025 finalistsTaking the best bits from our award finalists this year, this latest creation is electric with power, style, and three rows of seats.
Read more »
AIMA Tech Unveils 2025 eBike Lineup at CES 2025AIMA Tech, a global leader in sustainable mobility, unveils its groundbreaking 2025 eBike lineup at CES 2025. The new lineup features eight new models and three upgraded designs, each tailored to meet diverse rider needs.
Read more »
Tesla is recalling almost 700,000 vehicles due to a tire pressure monitoring system issueThe recall includes certain 2024 Cybertruck, 2017-2025 Model 3, and 2020-2025 Model Y vehicles.
Read more »
Kate Hudson Honors Kate Winslet at the 2025 Golden Globes With a 'Titanic'-Inspired Diamond NecklaceKelsey (she/her) is a freelance fashion editor and writer, specializing in e-commerce and fashion news. With more than ten years of experience in digital media, Kelsey has a knack for turning top-performing content into top-selling content.
Read more »