Salvage company plans seventh Titanic dive

NORFOLK -- The company that has exclusive rights to salvage the Titanic wants to make another expedition to the world's most famous shipwreck in 2010.

RMS Titanic Inc.'s expedition would be the first by the company since 2004, though two other expeditions have been to the site since then. The company went before a judge yesterday to seek a salvage award for its past expeditions, and to inform the court of its plans.

"Obviously we have an interest in going back to shipwreck for a number of reasons, but we want to do it with the blessing of the court," Christopher Davino, president and CEO of RMS Titanic, said after the first of four days of hearings in federal court.

U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith, a maritime jurist who considers the wreck an "international treasure," is presiding over the hearings. They are not only intended to determine a salvage award, but to establish legal guarantees that thousands of artifacts remain intact as a collection and forever accessible to the public. Some pieces have ended up in London auction houses.

The 5,900 pieces of china, ship fittings and personal belongings are valued at more than $110 million and are displayed around the world by Premier Exhibitions Inc., an Atlanta company. RMS Titanic is a subsidiary of Premier.

The first two witnesses yesterday testified about management changes at Premier and the perils and costs associated with salvage expeditions to the Titanic.

Deep-dive explorer Paul-Henry Nargeolet, who has led five expeditions to the Titanic wreck, testified about the extraordinary expense and risks of deep-sea exploration.

The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage in international waters on April 15, 1912, and has been subject to competing legal claims since an international team found it in 1985. Since then, RMS Titanic has retrieved artifacts during six dives.

At the hearings this week in Norfolk, lawyers for RMS Titanic will seek title to the artifacts and a monetary award for its salvage costs.

If the court agrees to RMS Titanic's request, the company could sell the entire collection to a museum with court approval. The company has said it has no plans to do so.