The reason why the Titanic wreck cannot be salvaged

The Titanic was very difficult to salvage because the wreck was decaying, it would cost a huge amount of money and it was considered a graveyard.

1. The Titanic wreck is a graveyard

About 1,500 people died in the Titanic's sinking. After the ship sank, rescue boats recovered more than 300 bodies. Those wearing life jackets were likely swept further away by ocean currents, while many others sank with the ship. The U.S. and British governments agreed to treat the wreck as a memorial, so the area will be preserved rather than salvaged, according to Monica Allen, director of public affairs for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

In 2020, RMS Titanic Inc., the company granted salvage rights to the Titanic, planned to retrieve the radio transmitter used to send distress signals. The plan sparked controversy over the possibility that the expedition might disturb the remains. Some argued that marine life and seawater had completely decomposed the bodies. For many, the wreck marks a tragedy, regardless of whether remains exist. Descendants of the passengers who died still regard the Titanic as a graveyard.

2. The Titanic wreck is decomposing

The Titanic was built from thousands of 1-inch-thick steel plates with two million steel and wrought iron rivets. Halomonas titanicae , the bacteria named after the ship, works symbiotically to feed on iron and sulfur, according to biologist Lori Johnston. As the bacteria digest the iron on the ship, they create rusticles, stalactite-like structures that cover the wreck.

Stalactites are “a much weaker form of metal,” fragile enough to turn to dust, says Clare Fitzsimmons, a researcher at Newcastle University. Ocean currents and salt corrosion also cause further damage over time. The extent of the Titanic’s decay can be seen by comparing photos of Captain Edward Smith’s cabin from 1996 to 2019. According to historian Parks Stephenson, the captain’s bathtub was a favorite image for Titanic enthusiasts, but it is now gone. The entire floor on that side collapsed, taking the bedrooms with it, and the decay continues.

3. The huge cost of salvaging the Titanic wreck

In 1914, engineer Charles Smith proposed attaching electromagnetic cables to the hull and slowly raising it using steam engines and winches. He estimated the cost at the time at $1.5 million, or about $45 million today. The cost of raising the sunken cruise ship Costa Concordia in 2013 was $800 million. That ship was only partially submerged, so raising the Titanic would be much more complicated and expensive.

Although the wreck is a memorial, some of the ship’s artifacts have been salvaged. Salvage work is limited to the debris field around the two hulls and must follow NOAA guidelines, international agreements, and federal regulations. Exposing Titanic to air poses problems. It took two dives in 1996 and 1998 to pull a large piece of Titanic to the surface. The 14-by-30-foot (4-by-9-meter) piece, weighing 15 tons, still has rivets and glass in some of the ship’s portholes.

The seabed is a low-oxygen environment, so the fragment had to be kept in water during transport to slow the effects of corrosion. The fragment was immersed in a solution of sodium carbonate and water for 20 months to remove the salts that weaken the metal. It is currently on display at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas.

An Khang (According to Business Insider )

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