Shipwrecks - Time Capsules of Human Civilization

Reuters Report on the Titanic Auction

A couple of weeks ago, Reuters television reported on the successful auction of Titanic-related materials and rarities at the Christies auction held in New York City. Many fantastic items from the Titanic that included plaques and other items from the recovered lifeboats were included in this event. I was invited to this auction but unfortunately had some other projects that kept me away from attending this gala affair.

For those of you that missed this auction, the following link is a Reuters news report about the auction that highlights several of the key Titanic pieces. Included in this film clip is my underwater video footage of the Titanic that I took during my 2003 scientific research diving expedition to the wreck site.  I have been profiled several times by Reuters news service for my underwater video footage of Titanic. The link for this news report can be found at : http://today.reuters.com/tv/videoChannel.aspx?storyid=ba90bbbe52187f3d646516b2d5cef91d12de720d

Additional footage that I have shot on Titanic have found themselves in several television documentaries that include two National Geographic specials, a History Channel special and a commercially-available National Geographic DVD. Our Titanic underwater footage was used by Partisan Pictures for the promotion of the 2004 Robert Ballard  / NOAA expedition to Titanic.

Busy, Busy, Busy..... New Shipwreck Information Gathered

It has been quite a busy time for me over the past month.  I have logged over 25,000 miles, been to 5 different countries on three continents, given 5 Shipwreck presentations on three different ocean liners and presented a scientific research paper on Titanic.  All of this travel has enabled me to provide my blog readers with firsthand research materials for shipwreck study - so it was extremely productive. Even though the amount of blogs has decreased this month, the quality of materials gained through my travels will allow me present you with new, unique and relevant information on the latest developments on shipwreck exploration in the immediate future.

Much of my work has been focused on the Andrea Doria of which I have made many dives and have done over 25 years of research. The 50th anniversary of the Andrea Doria's collision and sinking is being remembered by many throughout the globe and I have been inundated with media requests. Three of this month's presentations have been about the Andrea Doria and were viewed by over 800 people. In addition, I have been working on the Andrea Doria Survivor's Reunion, two Andrea Doria documentaries, a consultant on PBS (Public Broadcasting Systems) Andrea Doria website  and started publicity on a new Andrea Doria book entitled Alive on the Andrea Doria by Doria survivor Pierette Simpson. Yesterday, a newspaper review by the Daily Collegian of my presentation to a scientific crowd at the Pennsylvania State University's Marine Science Program was published. Although the article did not contain the science behind the collision and sinking of the Andrea Doria, I had a great time interacting with students, professors, administrators and guests at this event. In July, I will be leading the Official Andrea Doria Diving Expedition to the wreck site and will be doing some high definition filming of the current morphological changes to the ship.

The final presentation of this week was to an organization of Lockheed Martin retirees about the tragic sinking of the Empress of Ireland at their group's luncheon. They were treated to a brief historical account of the tragedy and a forty-minute, high-quality digital virtual dive to the shipwreck. The Empress is considered a very dangerous dive due to its cold water temperatures, limited dark visibility and ripping currents. It was great to talk to this group about the Empress as this ship is the most tragic ship accident that most people have never heard about.  Later this summer, I will be leading a diving expedition to the Empress and look forward to broadcasting LIVE from the dive site as I did last year.

I will be continuing the series on my expedition to Turkey on the next blog. I look forward to chatting with you about this adventure to ancient nautical times. Look forward to a new Titanic story from a Titanic passengers' family with a unique twist that we will exclusively broadcast later this month. There is so much to write about!

Future Scientific Studies Involving the Biological Ecosystem of Titanic

The Titanic is proving to be a literal treasure-trove for scientific study of the deep ocean floor. Obviously, the difficulty of conducting scientific studies at this depth limits the number and types of comprehensive examination that can be performed on the wreck site of Titanic.

Because there are only five submersibles in the world that can visit the extreme depths of 12,600 feet, where Titanic resides, every visit to the ship have proven to be of tremendous value to the scientific community. Each dive to the Titanic has the potential to discover a new species of plant or animal life - and in most cases, many new life forms has been found and cataloged for further study. The area surrounding Titanic can now be referred to as a natural field laboratory for the study of deep ocean ecosystems. By further understanding this in-situ environment, we can provide the associated research that could aid in the preservation of the Titanic.

From Nautical Research Group’s studies on the bow of Titanic, there is clear evidence of natural deterioration processes that are compromising the structural integrity of the shipwreck. Almost all of these structural changes can be attributed to the interactions between the microbes and the exposed steel areas on Titanic. Other natural factors that are contributing to the collapse of Titanic are the settling pressure effects, as the ship is slowly becoming part of the ocean floor. Many of the unique physical structures on the bow are in danger of total collapse within the next decade or two. Other studies will include the analysis of the sea snow that is raining down on Titanic and its interactions with the microbes. Further comparator data will provide an enormous wealth of information that can provide the scientific community with extremely valuable knowledge. This knowledge can be used as a basis for monitoring the physical condition of Titanic throughout the twenty-first century.

Titanic's Vibrant Underwater Community

Most people think that the deep ocean is a fairly desolate place; void of light and full of slightly anoxic waters. However, the wreck site of Titanic is a very vibrant area for unique sea life and activity. In several of my articles, I have talked about the microbes that are consuming the steel on Titanic. There have been over 20 distinct species of bacteria and two fungal species identified in the rusticles that cover all the exposed steel areas of Titanic. The teredo worms have consumed the ship's teak decking leaving only the caulk as a reminder of where the wood would of been placed.

Not all the sea life on the ship is microscopic. A fish that is a regular visitor to the Titanic site is the rat tail or the Coryphaenoides armatus.  The rat tail is the most common large species recorded at abyssal depths in the North Atlantic. A rare large species that occasionally visits Titanic is the dumbo octopus, also known as Grimpoteuthis. This octopus has large projections that make it look like the Disney character Dumbo and its large ears. Many photographs that you see on the bow section of Titanic will have miniature white lobsters hiding in the nooks of the steel. These white lobsters are called squat lobsters or Munidopsis; and can be the most common large species found on the wreck site. I have seen several varieties of shrimp on the wreck - some red and others that look like miniature candy-canes. Other sea life that look like sea growth or soft corals are called crinoids and hydroids that can be seen growing on several sections of wreckage - including the extreme bow railing.

There are many other varieties of life that can be found on Titanic and every voyage down to the site has the potential for discovery of a new underwater species. The ecosystem around Titanic is teeming with new and exotic life and this is a reason why many scientists are so fascinated with visiting the wreckage.

Titanic's Missing Pieces?

Now that the new discovery of the keel sections of Titanic have been publicly released, it is time for the Titanic enthusiasts to mull over the information. Although a discovery of this magnitude answers several questions, it poses even more questions about its interpretation. The naval architect, Roger Long gave a very plausible explanation of how two relatively intact keel sections could be found in a newly discovered debris field east of the main bow and stern sections of the wreck site. I find that I have so many questions to address regarding his potential scenario of the sinking. At times I found myself talking to the television and saying "No way!". 

Obviously I was not the only one that was saying something similar. Parks Stephenson, one of the show's technical experts that was portrayed at Woods Hole and member of the marine forensics panel of the Society of Naval Engineers, has a different take on the data retrieved from the discovery. His views can be found on his web site at Marconigraph.com and his analysis of the sinking seems more logical to me. That is not to say it is right or wrong, but I am more comfortable with his thoughts at the present time.

I am very grateful to David Concannon and Robert Williams for setting this whole investigative theory into an active hunt for the new evidence. In 2003, both Robert Williams and Fred McLaren spent their entire dives doing "sand sweeps" outside the perimeter of the main sections of Titanic in pursuit of keel pieces. Even though they had limited success, their time spent on the bottom ruled out sections that needed to be explored. I am sure that the limited amount of dives available to the latest research team can owe these researchers a debt of thanks for narrowing their search pattern.

As the new evidence is being "digested" by the many interested Titanic enthusiasts, including me, there will be many new and ingenious interpretations of the new discovery. For further analysis of the bow and stern sections of the ship, please visit our corporate web site and in the text of the homepage, select Educational Services for photographs of the wreck site from this year's scientific research Titanic exploration. I certainly need more information to satisfy my own curiosity. This new evidence does not rule out the grounding theory but certainly assists in a more accurate portrayal of speculation about Titanic's sinking. I think that Roger and Parks explanations, both very different, are a wonderful foundation for further research and study. I commend all of these individuals for putting together a thoroughly enjoyable evening that will be talked about for years to come!

Comparing Titanic's Decay with the Empress of Ireland, Lusitania, Britannic and Andrea Doria

Although Titanic is deteriorating while subjected to the natural force of the Atlantic Ocean, it has been preserved relatively well throughout the past ninety-three years. More recent shipwrecks, like the ill-fated Italian luxury liner Andrea Doria which sank in 1956, is in much worse shape structurally than Titanic. The Doria lies in 260 feet of water about 40 miles southwest of Nantucket Island. The relatively shallow depths, strong currents, aluminum-alloy- based superstructure and weather conditions have battered the Doria to the point where the top five deck levels have fallen down to the bottom of the ocean. With its entire superstructure gone, the Doria is now a huge steel hull with all of its once-beautiful infrastructure lying next to it on its starboard side in a vast heap of metallic wreckage.

It is important to put the decay of Titanic in the context of other contemporary twentieth century ocean liner shipwrecks. These once-opulent liner shipwrecks like the Lusitania, the Empress of Ireland and Titanic’s sister, Britannic have all sunk in different parts of the world and been exposed to a variety of different environmental factors. Despite their environmental differences, all of these fine liners are in relatively similar states of deterioration to that of Titanic. Judging by these many differences in environmental conditions, the fact that their states of deterioration are similar may prove to be a mere coincidence.

Titanic Scientific Studies - Time Estimates for Decay

There are several other scientists looking at the deterioration of Titanic, other than myself, and they have come up with some fascinating projections. This projection estimate was published in 2000 by two Canadian scientists, Roy Cullimore and Lori Johnson out of the University of Regina and DROYCON, Inc. and was looking specifically at the rusticles.

The table below summarizes the potential losses of iron from the bow section under various conditions of rusticle growth formation:

Estimated Time (calendar year, AD) Frame For the Losses of Iron
from the Steel Bow Section, RMS Titanic

Percentile Steel Loss under various Growth Conditions

Growth Rate	10%	20%	30%	40%
Extreme	2020	2026	2034	2045
High	2032	2048	2056	2068
Moderate	2050	2068	2088	2106
Low	2098	2212	2326	2440

Lori has been part of several expeditions, most recently with James Cameron's trip to Titanic in 2005. What has been observed lately on Titanic is that there is an exponential deterioration in Titanic and these projections may be accelerated. We have been using our data from 2003 as a baseline and following out the deterioration throughout the past few years. In 2005, we spent almost 7 hours on the wreck and we were quite surprised to see all the additional deterioration that has taken place. I look forward to see Lori and Roy's latest projections!

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.

2006 - Year of New Underwater Shipwreck Discovery and Exploration

The following article is a modified extract of a comment that I made to fellow underwater explorer, Steve Libert about several of my projects over the next three months. I hope that you enjoy....

I thought that it might be tough to top all the exciting and wonderful expeditions that I had in 2005 that included Titanic, Empress of Ireland, the Bermuda Triangle rescue aircraft - Martin Mariner PBM-5, various historical shipwrecks that ranged from naval to merchant and old treasure galleons to ocean liners (including a Blue Riband Cunard Liner Oregon).

2006 is shaping up to be an even better and more historic diving season that will be highlighted by our series of events surrounding the 50th Anniversary of the Collision and Sinking of the Andrea Doria. I will be releasing some new nautical forensic information and underwater video regarding this beautiful Italian liner's sinking that will change the historical perception of that tragic evening. In two weeks, I am off to Florida diving deep in the underground caves using a mixed-gas, closed circuit rebreather (as part of a cave diving course run by two of the world's best instructors - legendary Tom Mount and former British Special Forces diver Andrew Driver). Hopefully we will find in situ evidence for some prehistoric species deep within these underwater caves (a mastodon or mammoth would be nice). In March, I have two presentations to give. The first presentation is at the American Academy of Underwater Sciences meeting at the University of Washington's Friday Harbor Laboratory (FHL) in the San Juan Islands -located north of Seattle between the mainland and Vancouver Island, British Columbia about the latest scientific observations about the biological decay of Titanic. The second presentation of the month will be at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida about Diving to the Italian Liner Andrea Doria. Before the end of the month of March, I am off to the Black Sea and this should be very interesting - perhaps, if I am very lucky, I might discover Noah's Ark (just kidding!). In addition, I have some other "secret" shipwreck explorations and projects that I can't quite divulge yet (don't want the bureaucrats to put a damper on all the adventure) but will provide some significant new information about several historic shipwrecks.

Thank you for your continued support for this web site which is globally the number one blog ( weblog ) for shipwrecks. I find that it is a perfect forum for me to get things off my chest without feeling inhibited about the dives, expeditions and science. As a corporation, Nautical Research Group is thriving and we have been able to pick and choose the best and most interesting underwater projects. Our unique blend of nautical archaeology and deep technical diving - wrapped around our roots in the biological sciences is unparallelled.

Titanic Presentation - A Virtual Diving Tour to the Unsinkable Ship

My 2006 presentation/lecture series on Shipwrecks starts out with a bang on Saturday, January 28th at Rutgers University. The topic for the presentation is a virtual dive to the wreck site of RMS Titanic. This presentation will be provided as part of Rutgers University's Geology Open-House that is FREE to the public.

This presentation will have the latest video of Nautical Research Group's special diving expedition to the shipwreck of the famed ocean liner RMS Titanic. Recently Nautical Research Group has placed a 10-part photographic series on the the current condition of RMS Titanic on their corporate website that has received rave reviews. Here is a quick synopsis of the presentation:

Using the latest in digital videography, complete with edited, raw video footage and instructional voice-overs, David Bright will give you the virtual experience of participating and diving with a scientific research expedition to the RMS Titanic. Leaving port from the Canadian shores of Newfoundland, we will depart on the Russian oceanographic research vessel Akademik Keldysh, the most advanced deep-diving support vessel in the world. Using the sophisticated submersible Mir I and captained by the famous ocean scientist and explorer Anatoly Sagalevitch, we will descend to the bottom of the Atlantic, where we will explore the wreck site of the Titanic. Once on the ship, we will explore the intact bow section of the ship and observe many features of the ship that played roles during the collision and sinking. Particular observation will be given to the microbial decay that has produced rusticles all along the ship. Moving back toward the debris field, we will see many of the passengers' personal effects, as well as other distinctive articles from the ship. As we conclude our visit to the wreck site, we will see the Titanic's huge engines and the mangled stern section of the ship. This presentation combines the exuberant feeling of observing a historic shipwreck and the reverent feeling of visiting the final resting place of more than 1,500 people.

Attached is a flyer (click to enlarge) for this presentation that will be given at Rutgers University in Scott Hall - Room 123 at 11:00 AM. Many shipwreck discoveries have been made by geologists that are mapping the ocean floor and one of Rutger's geology professor-emeritus named Dr. Robert Sheridan was one of the discoverers of the famed Civil War ironclad USS Monitor back in the 1970's. The co-discoverer of Titanic was also a geologist by the name of Dr. Robert Ballard.