In this article we will talk about the remains of the most famous ocean liner in history: The RMS Titanic.
The history of this ship is known worldwide due to the shipwreck it suffered on its maiden voyage to New York, later, its history was adapted by the work of James Cameron in 1997 with the homonymous film of the famous ship.
The catastrophe that this ship of the White Star Line shipping company suffered when it hit an iceberg at 11:40 p.m. on April 12, 1912, causing its subsequent sinking two hours later after the impact, is well known. The ship was fatally injured when it collided with the large mass of ice from the side, opening waterways in five compartments. The ship could stay afloat with 4 flooded compartments, but being five those affected condemned the ship, as its architect analyzed thomas andrews on planes minutes after the collision. Not long after, work began to evacuate the ship in the lifeboats. If we put together the lower number of boats needed to cover all passengers in case of an accident, the small number of people with whom the first boats were filled and the sub-zero temperatures of the North Atlantic water, we understand the large number of deaths, 1523 of 2223 between passengers and crew.
The remains of the ocean liner were discovered on September 1, 1985 by the famous oceanographer and specialist in underwater archeology Robert Ballard together with Jean-Louis Michel in a Franco-American expedition coordinated by both.
The wreck was found a few kilometers from where the ship sank in the North Atlantic near the island of Newfoundland.. with a large number of objects and remains of the ship scattered on the seabed at a depth of 3821 meters. Thanks to the discovery of the remains of the Titanic, the theory that the ship split in half moments before sinking was confirmed. The part that is best preserved is the front, conserving about 137 meters where you can still enter and explore some roofs.
The rear, on the other hand, is in very poor condition, almost completely crushed and unarmed. This could have occurred due to the strong pressure of the water when the section fell towards the seabed and due to its not very hydrodynamic shape, unlike the bow section, which due to its shape glided in the water, settling on the bottom with much less aggressiveness than the bow section. the aft section.
As we saw before, the bow section is practically semi-intact and now we will see what parts and details of the ship are still recognizable and in what state they are.
First, At first glance you can see the great wear that all that remains of the ship has suffered due to the action of marine corrosion, impregnating everything with rust. In the bow section, the large anchors of the ship are still preserved, the chimneys fell off in the fall to the seabed and in their place we find their corresponding holes. The forward crane remains intact, oriented towards the bow point and it can be seen how loading window No. 1 appears open without its cover, which surely came off during the descent. The control bridge of the forecastle is found without the steering house, which possibly disappeared in the sea descent due to the fall of the forward mast on it, the mast is somewhat bent and part of the lookout’s top is still preserved. When the steering house disappeared, it exposed the rudder deck without its wheel, and very close to this area the captain’s cabin is uncovered Edward Smith with its bathtub still intact.
One of the greatest attractions of this luxurious ocean liner was its glass and wrought iron dome and the famous grand staircase. Currently nothing remains of the dome or the stairway, as this possibly came off during the descent, destroying the dome and leaving in its place a large hole through which underwater explorers can easily access the different decks to record and explore the ship interiors.
In the stern section of the little recognizable that remains we can mention the engines of the port and starboard propellers, you can also see a bit of the two partially buried lateral propellers. Most of this section is scattered throughout the debris field of which the wreck is made up, including the ship’s huge boilers, large pieces of the hull, and also a huge amount of everyday objects such as suitcases, shoes, bottles, cutlery, porcelain. , glasses and a long etcetera.
Many of these objects have been raised and exhibited in museums, but many others have been looted by private dives, making it an important topic of discussion. Should more of the Titanic’s heritage be raised? It is an extremely complex response and with different opinions, on the one hand, refloating objects gives us first-hand information about the Titanic and its passengers, but on the other hand, the Titanic is and is considered by many to be a cemetery and underwater cultural heritage to which we owe respect and leave intact. Since 1985, different dives have been continued to explore and collect more data on the transatlantic and according to some experts, what remains of the ship will disappear between 2020 and 2050.