Submerged Ship is Threatened By Rust, Scavengers, Tourists

Posted: April 11, 2012  |  By: Philip Sherwell [Daily Telegraph]

The ocean explorer who led the team that discovered the remains of the Titanic has drawn up plans to dispatch deep-water robots to the floor of the North Atlantic to conserve the wreck.

It was 100 years ago this week that the liner set sail from Southampton for New York on her doomed maiden voyage. Maritime officials and experts have warned that the wreck is rusting away.

The U.S. Coast Guard recently wrote to the International Maritime Organization asking for a ban on ships dropping garbage or releasing sewage within 10 nautical miles of the site.

Robert Ballard, a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, said last week that he will apply for a permit from U.S. authorities to conduct an ambitious operation 3.7 kilometres beneath the surface.

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