Titanic Expedition Finds Lost Bronze Statue, Significant Decay To Ship
HuffPost
The discovery of the long-lost "Diana of Versaille" statue came with disappointment, as a significant section of the ship’s railing was also found to have fallen.
A bronze statue from the Titanic — not seen in decades and feared to be lost for good — is among the discoveries made by the company with salvage rights to the wreck site on its first expedition there in many years.
RMS Titanic Inc., a Georgia-based company that holds the legal rights to the 112-year-old wreck, has completed its first trip since 2010 and released images from the expedition on Monday. The pictures show a site that continues to change more than a century later.
The trip to the remote corner of the North Atlantic Ocean where the Titanic sank happened as the U.S. Coast Guard investigates the June 2023 implosion of the Titan, an experimental submersible owned by a different company. The Titan submersible disaster killed all five people on board, including Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who was director of underwater research for RMS Titanic.
The findings from this summer’s trip “showcase a bittersweet mix of preservation and loss,” RMS Titanic said in a statement. A highlight was the rediscovery of the statue “Diana of Versaille,” last seen in 1986, and the statue now has a clear and updated image, the company said.
On a sadder note, a significant section of the railing that surrounds the ship bow’s forecastle deck has fallen, RMS Titanic said. The railing still stood as recently as 2022, the company said.
