Fate of Titanic in Hands of Norfolk Judge

It is perhaps ironic that nearly a century after the Titanic struck ice in the North Atlantic, Rebecca Beach Smith, a federal judge in Norfolk will be deciding how to best preserve the largest collection of artifacts from the ill-fated ocean liner and protect the ship's resting place from disturbance in honor of the more than 1500 people who died in the early hours of April 15, 1912. As I have noted before, I have always been fascinated with ocean liners and had the good fortune of having a friend who was representing RMS Titanic Inc. who arranged for me to be present when the first artifacts from Titanic were off loaded in Norfolk. I still have books about Titanic autographed by members of the team that photographed the wreck and brought up artifacts. My friend - now a U.S. magistrate - had the incredible experience of going down to see the wreck. Here are some highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

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Nearly a century after the Titanic struck ice in the North Atlantic, a federal judge in Norfolk is poised to preserve the largest collection of artifacts from the opulent oceanliner and protect the ship's resting place.

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U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith, a maritime jurist who considers the wreck an "international treasure," is expected to rule within weeks that the salvaged items must remain together and accessible to the public. That would ensure the 5,900 pieces of china, ship fittings and personal belongings won't end up in a collector's hands or in a London auction house, where some Titanic artifacts have landed.

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salvage company, RMS Titanic Inc., wants the court to grant it limited ownership of the artifacts.
At the same time, a cadre of government lawyers is helping Smith shape covenants to strictly monitor future activity at the Titanic wreck 2½ miles beneath the surface of the Atlantic. Amid evidence of the ship's deterioration, experts and government lawyers say the sanctity of the Titanic must be properly protected as a memorial to the 1,522 people who died when it went down.

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Because the Titanic sank in international waters on April 15, 1912, and the ship's owners are long gone, the wreck site and its artifacts have been subject to competing legal claims since an international team led by oceanographer Robert Ballard found it 24 years ago. The courtroom survivor is RMS Titanic Inc., also known as RMST, which gathered the artifacts during six dives. Courts have declared it salvor-in-possession — meaning it has exclusive rights to salvage the Titanic — but have explicitly stated it does not own the 5,900 artifacts or the wreck itself.

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Smith is drawing upon the State Department and NOAA to help craft the covenants to keep the artifacts preserved, intact as a collection and available to the public, and to guide future salvage operations at the Titanic wreck by RMST. At a hearing in November, the no-nonsense judge made clear the stakes. "I am concerned that the Titanic is not only a national treasure, but in its own way an international treasure, and it needs protection and it needs to be monitored," the judge told lawyers in the case.

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International protections have been sought for the Titanic almost since the wreck was discovered. Ballard, who led the team that found the ship, told a congressional hearing in October 1985: "Titanic is like a great pyramid which has been found and mankind is about to enter it for the first time since it was sealed. Has he come to plunder or appreciate? The people of the world clearly want the latter."