Q&A

What’s the state of Titanic?

The liner split in two after striking a massive iceberg in 1912, with little of the stern portion left. The 470ft bow was remarkably well preserved – but salt corrosion and rust-eating bacteria have seen its condition deteriorate dramatically.

When was the wreck found?

It was not until 1985 that the site was discovered 560km off Newfoundland by oceanographer Dr Robert Ballard. One 2012 estimate suggested that 140 people had since been down to the liner in scientific, private and commercial dives using robotic and manned submersibles.

So what’s been recovered?

Divers have picked clean accessible parts of the deck, removing everything from the ship’s bell and a whistle from a funnel to champagne and jewellery. While hundreds of bodies were pulled from the sea in the days after the sinking, all traces of human remains had long since vanished by the time the Titanic was found.

And what’s its legal status?

Until now, little could be done to deter looters. US courts had granted exclusive salvage rights to private firm RMS Titanic Inc, which has raised at least 6,000 items. Only in 2012 was it designated a protected site under Unesco rules.

How will new rules work?

Dive licences will only be granted if excavation can be justified on educational, scientific, or cultural grounds – or if artefacts are threatened by further decay. Anyone convicted in Britain, for instance, of operating an illegal dive to the Titanic could face an unlimited fine in court.