Plans by RMS Titanic Inc. (RMST) for the 2025 expedition of Titanic have resurrected legal arguments as the US government opposed the salvage rights by the company to this world-famous ship. RMST, which had last carried out salvage operations in 2010, has recently submitted a fresh set of proposals for collecting artifacts, which have attracted criticism in federal court.
The U.S. government has argued that the wrecks are located in international waters; hence, the wreckage at issue should be protected through a treaty. RMST then counters that only the federal admiralty Virginia court in the traditional venue for this Titanic case has jurisdiction.
The company’s plans for future expeditions come at a time when the Titanic continues to deteriorate on the ocean floor. Legal tensions have escalated after the tragic implosion of the Titan submersible last year, which claimed five lives, including RMST’s director of underwater research, Paul-Henri Nargeolet. Following this loss, RMST scaled back its dive operations in 2023, limiting the mission to capturing external images of the wreck.
RMS says it needs more time to finalize the Titanic expedition in 2025
Despite the limited scope of their last expedition, the U.S. government is still cautious about RMST’s future salvage intentions. The company recently told a federal judge that it needs more time to finalize its 2025 plans but opposes the government’s efforts to intervene in its operations.
Central to the debate is the concern of the U.S. government about preserving the Titanic as a historical and cultural site. RMST had previously tried to retrieve some artifacts, including the radio that sent the ship’s distress calls. The court allowed this in 2020, but the expedition was delayed indefinitely due to the pandemic.
With U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith now facing the government’s motion to intervene, serious legal questions will abound. Congress does have authority to regulate access to the Titanic, and the judge pointed out centuries of maritime law, under which courts have exclusive jurisdiction over shipwrecks.
With legal disputes remaining unresolved, Titanic’s expedition in 2025 might signal another chapter in the war over salvaging one of history’s most iconic wrecks.
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