Titanic wreck - gold mine of tourism industry

For decades, tourists have paid big bucks for the chance to catch a glimpse of the wreck of the Titanic on the seabed off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

It took eight hours and $250,000 for visitors to see what remains of the famous Titanic shipwreck off the coast of St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

On the morning of June 18, five people (including three guests and two crew members) boarded the Titan submersible to make this journey. The ship lost contact after 1 hour and 45 minutes of diving during the eight-day expedition. Despite the danger of traveling at a depth of nearly 4,000 meters (where the ship sank), this was an "irresistible" opportunity because very few people have seen the Titanic with their own eyes.

The bow of the Titanic during an expedition in August 2019. Photo: Atlantic Productions — The bow of the Titanic during an expedition in August 2019. Photo: *Atlantic Productions*

More than a century after the ship sank, interest in the Titanic has never waned. Most people satisfy their curiosity by visiting museums and exhibitions around the world about the ship. But not everyone has the opportunity to see the Titanic in person.

The Titanic sank in 1912. It wasn't until 1985 that National Geographic Explorer Robert Ballard and French oceanographer Jean-Louis Michel led an expedition to discover the ship's final resting place. Ballard then testified before the US Congress and called on the government to designate the Titanic wreck as a maritime memorial. In July 1986, Ballard placed a plaque on the ship, requesting that the site be left undisturbed out of respect and remembrance of the more than 1,500 victims of the sinking.

But that didn’t happen. Instead, a competition to salvage artifacts from the ship heated up. The move was partly an effort to preserve artifacts from the ship, but mostly a desire to profit from the exploitation, auction, and display of artifacts.

While legal battles over the right to visit and salvage raged in court, expeditions to the Titanic's wreck site continued, creating a small but expensive tourism market.

Researchers, salvagers, and filmmakers like James Cameron (director of the 1997 film Titanic) have made multiple trips to the ship. Others have done the same, just with the money.

In 1998, British company Deep Ocean Expeditions was one of the first to sell tickets for $32,500 to see the remains of the ship. In 2012, expedition leader Rob McCallum said the company was organizing its final round of tours after having visited the wreck 197 times. These final trips in 2012 cost $59,000 per person, for a 12-day trip with a maximum of 20 people.

Inside the Titan submersible during a tour of the Titanic wreck. Photo:OceanGate — Inside the Titan submersible during a tour of the Titanic wreck. Photo: *OceanGate*

In early 2002, the Los Angeles-based tour company Bluefish entered the Titanic diving market. For the next four years, they only took eight clients. Ten years later, they started selling tours again, at nearly $60,000 per person.

London-based Blue Marble, which sold tickets for more than $100,000 per person in 2019, at the time the most expensive ticket to view the wreck, has since partnered with OceanGate Expeditions, the company that owned the Titan submersible that crashed, to offer tours.

OceanGate Expeditions entered the lucrative market in 2021. They had two successful trips. The third trip was scheduled for 2023 and met with an accident. OceanGate Expeditions had planned 18 dive trips this year.

Researchers have pointed to the toll that visiting the wreck has taken on the Titanic. The ship suffered significant damage after hitting the seabed, with its iron rusting over the years. Less than a decade after the wreck was discovered, rapid deterioration was observed. In 2019, a dive confirmed that large sections of the ship were collapsing.

Today, the surrounding area is littered with trash, including beer and soda bottles, weights, chains and cargo nets from salvage efforts. In 2001, a couple even got married in a submersible on the Titanic's bow.

Even divers who have no intention of touching the wreck can still cause damage. One expedition is said to have rammed the Titanic and ignored information about the damage they caused.

Because the shipwreck is in international waters, no country can claim jurisdiction over the Titanic. But it does qualify for protection under the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. The more than 40 countries that are party to the UNESCO convention have the right to prohibit the destruction, looting, sale, and dispersal of objects found on the ship. In 2012, the Titanic was recognized as a UNESCO Underwater World Heritage Site.

UNESCO's then-director general, Irina Bokova, said the Titanic could now be safely secured and expressed concern about the damage and looting that countless ancient shipwrecks face. Bokova called the shipwrecks archaeological sites of scientific and historical value. "They are memories of human tragedy that must be treated with respect," the head of UNESCO said.

Anh Minh (According to National Geographic, UNESCO )

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