Titanic fate to be decided by judge.

[artmonkforHOF]

Interesting read. The company that made the salvage dives wants limited ownership of the artifacts so it can use them in museum displays (which is another part of it's business). I hope that they let the dive team recover their costs of the dives by either letting them tour the artifacts at various museums or compensate them if a separate body is set up to tour the artifacts.

Anyone know why a US federal judge is overseeing this? The Titanic sunk in international waters, and was originally owned by a British company. Does it have something to do with salvage team being an American company?

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Nearly a century after the Titanic struck ice in the North Atlantic, a federal judge in Virginia is poised to preserve the largest collection of artifacts from the opulent oceanliner and protect the ship’s resting place.

U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith, a maritime jurist who considers the wreck an “international treasure,” is expected to rule within weeks that the salvaged items must remain together and accessible to the public. That would ensure the 5,900 pieces of china, ship fittings and personal belongings won’t end up in a collector’s hands or in a London auction house, where some Titanic artifacts have landed.

http://money.canoe.ca/News/Other/2009/03/24/8865881-ap.html

[Dictator]

it's not going to remain there forever though. the ship is disolving.

I might be in the minority, but I'm all for pulling up every artifiact we can.

[artmonkforHOF]

I'd like to see it salvaged as well, the problem is it's very expensive, and I think whoever does the recovery, should be able to set up a museum or tour the wreck so they can get the money they put in back out. the problem I see is that if it has taken 24 years to get the artifacts figured out, the entire wreck might be gone before a plan can be decided.