Save the TITANIC
NEW
FACTUAL
Titanic: Into the Heart of the Wreck
Sunday, C4 HD, 7.30pm
ALMOST110 YEARS AGO, the so-called ‘unsinkable’ passenger liner RMS
Titanic hit an iceberg and sank into the depths of the Atlantic while on its way from Southampton to New York. More than 1,500 passengers and crew died, and the maritime disaster remains one of the most famous in history.
The wreck site has become a holy grail for deep-sea explorers, but experts have now discovered that the remains of the vessel are being destroyed by voracious metaleating bacteria – and could eventually disappear altogether.
‘There’s more life on Titanic now than there was when she was on the surface,’ says microbiologist
Lori Johnston. ‘The wreck is a very good food source. The bacteria have been known to cause deterioration of up to 100kg of iron a day that they’re removing from the ship itself.’
This documentary looks back at the 1985 discovery of the wreck and subsequent deep-sea dives, comparing past images to show just how rapidly the Titanic’s structure has decomposed over time.
It also charts a critical 2019 mission that attempted to assess the rate of deterioration and predict how much longer it would take before the Titanic was lost for ever.
Among the experts featured is James Cameron, who directed the 1998 Oscar-winning film Titanic and who is now a deep-sea explorer, as well as imaging specialist Bill Lange, who has made multiple dives to the wreck site.
‘Although the metal roof of the deckhouse is still intact, you can tell from the images that it’s dissolving away,’ says Lange. ‘The degradation will probably never stop.’
Now the race is on to save what’s left. ‘We have to recover artefacts, even pieces of the ship, and preserve them for the next generation,’ says oceanographer Paul-henri Nargeolet. ‘If we don’t do that, everything will be lost.’