New photos of the Titanic have revealed the extent of recent decay to the famous ship, plus the rediscovery of a striking bronze statue.
The images, taken by robots on dives this summer, show a section of the railing on the bow has fallen off since the last photos were taken in 2022.
But in an exciting discovery, a bronze statue of Diana of Versailles that sat in the first class lounge, was spotted lying face up on the sea bed.
It was last photographed in 1986 by Robert Ballard, who had found the Titanic wreck a year earlier.
The ship’s bow and its railings were immortalised by Jack and Rose in James Cameron’s hit 1997 film, first in Jack’s ‘I’m king of the world’ scene, and then later when Jack shows Rose how to ‘fly’.
Tomasina Ray, director of collections at RMS Titanic Inc, the company that carried out the expedition, told the BBC: ‘The bow of Titanic is just iconic – you have all these moments in pop culture – and that’s what you think of when you think of the shipwreck. And it doesn’t look like that anymore.
‘It’s just another reminder of the deterioration that’s happening every day. People ask all the time: “How long is Titanic going to be there?” We just don’t know but we’re watching it in real time.’
When photos and digital scans of the bow were taken two years ago by deep-sea mapping company Magellan and documentary makers Atlantic Productions, the railing was still attached but had begun to buckle.
They’re not the only part of the ship deteriorating – the whole metal structure is slowly being eaten away by microbes, which create stalactites of rust known as rusticles.
A previous dive in 2019 revealed that the starboard side of the officers quarters was collapsing, taking with it the state rooms and a view of the captain’s bathtub.
This year’s dives took place over July and August and saw two remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) take more than two million images and 24 hours of high definition footage of the wreck, which lies 3,800m below the surface.
When the ship sank in 1912, it split in two, with the bow and stern lying around 800m apart, surrounded by debris.
Among the debris was the 60cm Diana of Versailles figure.
‘It was like finding a needle in a haystack, and to rediscover this year was momentous,’ said James Penca, a Titanic researcher and presenter of the Witness Titanic podcast.
James said that when the Titanic split in two, the first class lounge where the statue sat got ripped open, sending Diana into ‘the darkness of the debris field’.
He described the first-class lounge as ‘the most beautiful, and unbelievably detailed, room on the ship’, adding, ‘And the centrepiece of that room was the Diana of Versailles.’
RMS Titanic Inc is the only company with the rights to recover parts of the ship, and has retrieved thousands of items over the years, displaying them around the world.
It plans to return to the site next year to salvage more, including, they hope, Diana.
Some have criticised the firm’s ongoing removal of objects from the site, however.
Among them is Pablo O’Hana, co-host of Titanic podcast Unsinkable.
He told Metro: ‘For decades, scientists, experts and renowned explorers, including the man who found the wreck, Dr Robert Ballard, have long warned about the lack of proper oversight on Titanic expeditions.
‘I have previously advocated for the establishment of an independent committee to ensure preservation and respect of this historic site.
Pablo said preservation does not require ‘endless physical intrusion’.
‘Titanic’s extraordinary story can be told through artefacts already recovered, interpretive museums like Titanic Belfast, documentaries, and digital reconstructions.
‘What remains of the great liner is crumbling under the weight of human interference, making it less of a historical site and more of a plundered ruin. The ocean, time, and nature should now be the ones to dictate her final chapter.’
James however said the Diana sculpture is a piece of art and was meant to be viewed and appreciated.
He added: ‘To bring Diana back so people can see her with their own eyes – the value in that, to spark a love of history, of diving, of conservation, of shipwrecks, of sculpture, I could never leave that on the ocean floor.”
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