Titanic Wreck Revealed in the Deep Sea... 'Movie's Iconic Outstretched Bow Collapsed'

The recent images of the luxurious Titanic, which sank after colliding with an iceberg 112 years ago, have been revealed, according to the American daily newspaper The New York Times (NYT) on the 3rd (local time).

Yonhap News, citing The New York Times, reported that the American private company 'RMS Titanic,' which holds the exclusive salvage rights to the Titanic, released photos taken during a deep-sea exploration of the Titanic conducted for about 20 days starting July 12. This company undertook the deep-sea exploration of the Titanic for the first time in 14 years since 2010. Instead of a manned submarine, a remotely operated unmanned robot was deployed for this exploration.

Recent photo of the bow of the Titanic in the deep sea [Photo by Yonhap News]

Looking at the recently released photos of the Titanic wreck site, the bow railing, famous for the scene in the movie "Titanic" (1997) where the protagonists Jack and Rose stand with their arms outstretched, was found to be severely damaged. This part had remained intact in other exploration photos released two years ago, but corrosion has progressed since then, and some parts are presumed to have collapsed. An RMS Titanic official said, "The exploration team confirmed the decay of the bow railing and felt saddened," adding, "While the collapse is inevitable, it has strengthened our duty to preserve Titanic's legacy."

The exploration also achieved the rediscovery of the Diana statue, which was presumed lost. The bronze statue modeled after Diana, the goddess of the hunt in Roman mythology, was displayed inside the Titanic's first-class lounge. When the ship sank, the lounge was shattered, and the statue was thrown outside the ship. The statue had not been found since 1986 and was presumed lost forever, but this time it was confirmed to be buried in the seabed sand after about 40 years.

Publicly unveiled statue of Diana
Photo by Yonhap News

Meanwhile, RMS Titanic has recently been in conflict with the U.S. government over permission to collect artifacts from the Titanic wreck. Since 1987, the company has recovered over 5,000 Titanic artifacts through explorations, some of which were sold.

However, some scientists argue that artifact recovery from the wreck should be halted to honor the victims of the Titanic disaster. In 2017, the U.S. Congress passed a bill requiring government approval before salvaging or physically altering the wreck site. After RMS Titanic announced plans in 2020 to cut into the Titanic wreck to retrieve the wireless telegraph equipment inside the ship, U.S. authorities sued the company.

Despite government sanctions, RMS Titanic had expressed intentions to continue exploration and artifact recovery, but after a submarine used for Titanic exploration tourism exploded last year, killing all five passengers on board, the company has temporarily suspended manned exploration plans. Although the submarine involved in the accident was not owned by the company, one marine expert affiliated with RMS Titanic died in the incident.

Meanwhile, the Titanic sank in April 1912 after departing from Southampton, England, heading to New York, USA, when it collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic. Of the 2,223 crew and passengers on board, 1,517 lost their lives.