Why has the Titanic wreckage not been salvaged after 111 years?

Recovering relics from historical tragedies is not always easy, and such was the case with the salvage of the legendary Titanic.

The Titanic, with its full name Royal Mail Ship Titanic , was considered the largest, most modern, magnificent and luxurious ship of the early 20th century. The ship was once considered a pinnacle of naval architecture and a technological advancement, praised by The Shipbuilder magazine as "unsinkable".

Titanic departed from the port of Southampton (England) on April 10, 1912. (Photo: oceanliners_classics)

Titanic set sail from Southampton, southeast England, on April 10, 1912, on its maiden and final voyage. Just four days after departure, on the night of April 14, 1912, the ship failed to turn and struck an iceberg, rupturing at least five hull compartments. These compartments filled with water and pulled the bow down.

Because the Titanic's compartments had no top hatches, water from the broken compartments flooded into each subsequent compartment, causing the bow to sink and the stern to rise almost vertically above the water. After 2 hours and 40 minutes, the Titanic broke in two, and the stern and bow sank completely to the bottom of the ocean.

Due to the lack of lifeboats and emergency rescue procedures, only about 700 people were saved by boarding lifeboats, wearing life jackets or lying on floating objects such as barrels, wooden doors. Most of the survivors were women and children.

The ill-fated ship met with disaster after only four days at sea when it hit an iceberg. (Photo: GMA).

According to many published investigation documents, 333 bodies were found among more than 1,500 people who died in the Titanic disaster. After 111 years, until now, Titanic is still always mentioned as the most tragic disaster in maritime history.

Shipwreck found at the bottom of the ocean after 73 years

The wreckage on the ocean floor was not discovered for decades until 1985. In September 1985, oceanographer Robert Ballard wanted to test robotic submarines, a new type of technology that would be used to search for sunken warships and submarines. He asked the US Navy to let him try to locate the Titanic using this new technology and was granted permission to proceed.

On September 1, 1985, a joint American-French expedition located the wreck of the Titanic at the bottom of the ocean at a depth of about 3,900m. (Photo: savetitaniclighthouse)

After just two weeks of searching at a depth of 12,500m below the water's surface, a team of scientists led by Robert Ballard located the shipwreck at a depth of more than 3,900m below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, about 590km southeast of Newfoundland (Canada).

Subsequent underwater explorations found that the Titanic was not only in a state of severe disintegration, but had also been broken into two pieces. A badly damaged section of the ship's hull on the starboard side of the bow provided evidence of the severity of the collision with the iceberg.

Reasons why Titanic could not be salvaged

Over the past century, there has been no shortage of geniuses from around the world who have come up with solutions to how to get the ship back to the surface. But the truth is that after all this time , the Titanic is clearly in such poor condition that it would not be able to withstand the stress of such a massive undertaking .

The discovery of the Titanic in pieces made it impossible to restore it intact . However, news of the ship's condition did not stop adventurous minds from devising ways to bring it back to human civilization.

The discovery that the Titanic was broken into pieces made it impossible to restore it intact. (Photo: titanic_fans_official)

Solutions ranged from the simple - such as using a crane mounted on a rescue ship - to the seemingly ridiculous - such as filling the Titanic with ping pong balls and attaching helium-filled balloons to the hull, then freezing the ship into an iceberg until the wreck floated - and were put forward.

Others suggested blowing up large balloons underneath the Titanic to help lift it above the water. However, the problem was that the balloons would have to be inflated to enormous pressure to help the ship rise to the surface, and this enormous pressure could cause the ship to disintegrate.

The most successful salvage operation took place in 1998, when the RMS Titanic company managed to lift a 20-ton, 91-square-meter section of the hull that had broken off when the ship collided 86 years earlier. The restoration team also brought back about 5,000 artifacts, including jewelry, toys, dishes and equipment used on the ship.

So far, other salvage expeditions have failed to bring back anything larger than this hull, and oceanographers have pointed out that the harsh marine environment has devastated the remains of the ship after more than a century underwater .

Artifacts, including jewelry, toys, dishes and equipment used on the ship, were salvaged and displayed at the exhibition. (Photo: Premier Exhibitions)

The hull was salvaged by RMS Titanic and displayed at Titanic: the Artifact Exhibition 2020 in Las Vegas. (Photo: Premier Exhibitions).

The acidity of the salty seawater corroded the ship and compromised its integrity to the point that the remains of the Titanic would likely crumble if tampered with . At the same time, rust-causing bacteria on much of the hull also corroded the ship, further weakening the structure.

The ship's interior is in equally bad shape, with decks completely collapsed. As a result, internal passageways that were once accessible by the robot mini-sub are now broken, and the cabins have largely deteriorated over time.

After more than a century, what remains of the Titanic has been severely corroded by seawater and bacteria. (Photo: titanic_memorabilia)

By 2016, scientists had discovered an organism called extremophile bacteria – a more aggressive player in destroying the Titanic's remains, leading many to believe that the entire remnants of the ship will be completely decomposed by 2030.

What is the solution for the 'revival' of historical legends?

With local salvage becoming impossible, further concerns have been raised about what to do with individual parts of the ship that may still be salvageable.

Preservationists argue that the ship's gradual decay makes it all the more important to preserve objects associated with a famous and tragic legend of human history.

Meanwhile, those who disagree with this view argue that the 2020 Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition in Las Vegas – which showcased 108 artifacts salvaged from the ill-fated ship – is proof that any attempt to reclaim the ship is purely for profit.

Artifacts salvaged from the Titanic are on display for the first time. (Photo: Fox News).

Some groups believe that the Titanic should be preserved intact and used as a cemetery for the 1,500 victims. However, oceanographers have revealed that after hundreds of dives, no evidence of human remains has been found. The reason is believed to be that sea creatures have eaten the remains, leaving no trace of their existence.