NOAA Ocean Today video: ‘Protecting Titanic’

The RMS Titanic sunk 100 years ago on April 15, 1912. The memory of the Titanic lives on in movies, books, and museums, but it’s the protection of the wreck site that will continue to yield clues about the fateful ship and its passengers. http://oceantoday.noaa.gov/protectingtitanic/welcome.html

TRANSCRIPT:

NARRATOR: More than two and half miles below the surface, the wreckage of the Titanic rests on the seafloor …… both as a memorial and a living laboratory.

One hundred years ago, the world’s most advanced passenger steamship struck an iceberg. On April 15th, 1912, it sank — losing 1,496 lives.

The legend of Titanic was larger than her size, and finding the wreck site opened a door to not only exploration and scientific study, but to salvage as well.

With ties to multiple nations, steps needed to be taken to preserve and protect the integrity of the wreck site.

For the US, NOAA and the State Department negotiated an international agreement with representatives of the U.K., Canada, and France.

This agreement recognizes the wreck site as a memorial to those who died and a wreck of great archaeological, historical, and cultural importance.

The agreement set rules for research, exploration, and salvage.

The memory of the Titanic lives on in movies, books, and museums, but it’s the protection of the wreck site that will continue to yield clues about the fateful ship and its passengers.
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Learn more about NOAA’s role in protecting the Titanic at http://www.noaa.gov/titanic/.

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