History & Culture
For decades, tourists have been paying for a chance to catch an undersea glimpse at the wreck of the Titanic. But ethical concerns persist over the impacts these submersibles have had on the deteriorating site.
ByAllie Yang
Published June 20, 2023
• 5 min read
It takes eight hours and $250,000 to get to what remains of the R.M.S. Titanic some 380 miles off the coast of St. John’s, Newfoundland.
On Sunday, five people got into the submersible Titan to make that journey. The vessel lost contact only an hour and 45 minutes into the eight-day expedition. A search is ongoing.
(Here are 6 urgent we have questions on the missing Titanic submersible.)
Despite the danger of traveling some 12,500 feet below the surface, this was an irresistible opportunity—very few people get to see the Titanic with their own eyes.
More than a century after the ship’s sinking, interest in the Titanic remains insatiable. Although most satisfy their curiosity by visiting the museums, exhibitions, and permanent collections around the world dedicated to the wreck, anyone able to pay for a ticket can see it for themselves.
Despite ethical concerns and the danger of further damaging the wreck, dives to the Titanic have been around for more than 20 years. Here’s what you need to know.
The rush to claim the Titanic wreckage
It wasn’t until 1985 that an expedition led by National Geographic Explorer-at-Large Robert Ballard and French oceanographer Jean-Louis Michel discovered the Titanic’s final resting place.
Shortly after, Ballard testified before the U.S. Congress, urging it to designate the wreck a maritime memorial. In July 1986, Ballard placed a plaque on the ship, asking that the site be left undisturbed in memory of the more than 1,500 people who died there.
(How do we find shipwrecks—and who owns them?)
But that didn’t happen. Instead, competition over who would be allowed to salvage artifacts from the ship heated up. In part, it was an effort to document and conserve the artifacts—but it was also a rush for profits from artifact sales and public displays.
The first official salvage effort was undertaken by the Titanic Ventures Limited Partnership (TVLP) and L’Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer in 1987, when around 1,800 items were collected and conserved. In 1992, a federal court ruled TVLP was the first and exclusive salvor of the Titanic—though in following decades, the company pushed for more.
Now known as RMS Titanic Inc., the company has conducted eight expeditions to the Titanic, and has auctioned off more than 5,000 objects taken from the site, including jewelry and a piece of the ship’s grand staircase.
While battles for visitation and salvage rights raged in court, expeditions to the Titanic continued—giving rise to a small but pricey tourism market.
Decades of Titanic tourism
Researchers, salvagers, and even filmmakers like James Cameron, who directed the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic, have made countless trips to the wreck. And for a pretty penny, tourists have been able to go too.
In 1998, British company Deep Ocean Expeditions were among the first to sell tickets to the public at $32,500 each to see the remains of the Titanic. In 2012, expedition leader Rob McCallum said the company was organizing one final round of tours after having gone down to the wreck 197 times. Those last expeditions in 2012 each lasted 12 days and took 20 passengers for $59,000 apiece.
Starting in 2002, Los Angeles-based travel firm Bluefish also ran Titanic dives, taking only eight people over the next four years. In 2012, the company began accepting bookings again with tickets running for $59,680.
London-based Blue Marble sold tickets for $105,129 per person in 2019, supposedly the adjusted value of a first-class ticket at the time of the sinking. Blue Marble partnered with OceanGate Expeditions—the same company whose vessel went missing Sunday—to run the tours.
OceanGate conducted successful expeditions in 2021 and 2022 and has 18 dives planned through 2023.
Protecting the Titanic
But what impact do these tours have on the 111-year-old ship?
The Titanic was damaged significantly upon impact with the seabed, and slowly, iron-eating bacteria is consuming what remains. Less than a decade after the wreck was found, rapid deterioration was being noticed. In 2019, a dive confirmed huge portions of the ship were collapsing.
Today the surrounding site is littered with trash, including beer and soda bottles, weights, chains, and cargo nets from salvage efforts. Visitors have also littered the area with plaques and memorials. In 2001, a couple was even married in a submersible resting on the Titanic’s bow.
(How debris from the Titanic informs us about its final hours.)
Even if submersibles don’t mean to touch the wreck, they can still further damage the ship. One expedition reportedly crashed into the Titanic and omitted information about the damage it caused.
Attempts to protect the wreck are ongoing. Because it is in international waters, it is eligible for basic protections under the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, which were granted in 2012. In 2020, the United Kingdom and United States agreed to work together to grant or deny licenses to people entering and taking artifacts from the site.
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