The Current State of Decay on the Bow of RMS Titanic

In late July 2005, following our successful scientific research expedition to RMS Titanic on the Russian research vessel Akademik Keldysh, I was very eager to start my analysis of the high-quality, digital photographic data of this historic shipwreck. My major research goals and objectives were the thorough examination of significant physical morphological changes in particular sections within the bow over time. I am very concerned about several areas on the bow that have gotten alarmingly worse since I last visited in 2003. The following paragraph is a brief synopsis from our scientific report that will be published as part of the proceedings from the American Academy of Underwater Sciences annual conference that will be held next month.

The officer's quarters of  RMS Titanic, especially on the port side, are sagging very noticeably and bulging in several places. If this section falls then the Marconi room will be severely compromised. The plating on top of the Marconi room is very thin and starting to show significant rust pits or holes in this plating. The starboard hull gash where at least 4 decks are exposed to open sea is another area of concern. This gash is widening and small cracks and fissures within the outer portions of this area is extending forward. Several of these cracks were not observed two years ago so I know that this is an area for dynamic change. Finally, the aft section of the bow section is sagging much more than 2003 and many of the items in this area are sliding down towards the boilers.

Once these results are officially presented to the public, the latest scientific research paper and its associated PowerPoint presentation will be available to the public at the Nautical Research Group Corporate web site under the Educational Services link.