The exploratory company that holds the rights to the RMS Titanic’s watery grave completed its first expedition of the site in 14 years and delivered bad news for historians — parts of the legendary liner are deteriorating.
“The new images from #TITANICExpedition2024 reveal one thing for sure: #TITANIC is changing,” RMS Titanic, Inc. posted on social media. “After 112 years at the bottom of the #NorthAtlantic, the hostile ocean environment has taken a toll on TITANIC.”
The latest scans and images of #TITANIC reveal many changes to the wrecksite and provide insight into how the great liner is deteriorating. A notable change is the loss of a 15-foot section of railing from the port side bow. pic.twitter.com/HxbLQ2S5R8
— RMS Titanic, Inc. (@RMSTitanic_Inc) September 2, 2024
Recent footage of the wreck shows a 15-foot section of railing from the sunken ocean liner’s port-side broke off the ship and sank to the ocean floor sometime over the past two years.
“For decades, the bow was a testament to the resilience of her strength and pride,” RMS Titanic, Inc. officials said. “The drastic change in the celebrated image is a reminder that TITANIC is deteriorating, advancing our resolve to preserve her legacy.”
Among the positive developments discovered by underwater cameras was the rediscovery of “Diana of Versaille,” a bronze statue last seen in 1986.
“Like the eternal Roman deities, she is timeless — and she is rediscovered thanks to Expedition 2024,” RMS Titanic, Inc. wrote on X alongside fresh images of the ill-fated ship and its deteriorating cargo.
That 2-foot-tall statue was inspired by the sculpture on display in Paris at the Louvre. Its remains were found amid a debris field spanning miles, according to explorers.
The storied British cruise ship sunk in the Atlantic Ocean after hitting an iceberg in April 1912 roughly 1,300 miles east of its Manhattan destination at Pier 59. Roughly 1,500 of the 2,200 passengers and crew were lost.
The RMS Titanic, Inc. crew that recently checked in on the ship said it spent nearly three weeks studying its remains and took at least 2 million photos before returning to Rhode Island Aug. 9.
Other explorers have surveyed the ship in the century since it sunk with varying results.
OceanGate Expeditions’ CEO was one of the five people killed in July 2026 when a 22-foot submersible operated by that company imploded during a dive among the wreckage. Yet the allure of the ship made famous once again by the blockbuster 1997 film “Titanic” continues to attract adventurers.
Ohio real estate investor Larry Connor this year said he was preparing to take the plunge in his $20-million, two-person Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer. No date has been announced for that journey.