Mission to recover Titanic artifacts canceled after Titan implosion

The company that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic shipwreck this week canceled its upcoming trip to recover more artifacts — four months after its expedition leader was killed in the Titan submersible explosion.

RMS Titanic, Inc decided that it “would not be appropriate” to ransack the same wreck that Paul-Henri Nargeolet, the company’s director of underwater research, was killed attempting to explore during the June tragedy, according to documents filed in a US District Court on Wednesday.

Nargeolet — who was scheduled to lead the unmanned RMST 2024 mission — was killed along with four other passengers when the OceanGate submersible buckled under the intense pressure of the water 12,000 feet below the surface.

The group’s “presumed” remains, as well as the final pieces of the doomed submersible, were recovered by the Coast Guard last week.

Nargeolet had already completed 37 dives and supervised the recovery of about 5,000 Titanic artifacts. He was lending his expertise during the Titan tragedy.

“Out of respect for P.H. Nargeolet and his family, and the other four people who perished so recently at the site, and their families, the company has decided that artifact recovery would not be appropriate at this time,” the firm wrote in the documents.

RMST also said it would not send another crewed submersible to the Titanic until “further investigation takes place regarding the cause of the (OceanGate) tragedy.”

Although RMST abandoned its plans to physically enter the Titanic for artifacts, the firm said it would continue taking pictures of the wreck and conducting surveys to refine “future artifact recovery.”

The decision could impact a looming court battle between the company and the U.S. government, which has been trying to stop the mission, citing federal law and international agreement that declares the shipwreck as a hallowed grave site.

The RMST planned to enter the Titanic’s severed hull and weave toward the famed Marconi room, where the crew sent frantic distress signals after the passenger liner hit the iceberg.

“Today’s filing underscores that we take our responsibilities seriously,” RMST CEO Jessica Sanders said in a statement.

“In light of the OceanGate tragedy, the loss of our dear colleague Paul-Henri ‘P.H.’ Nargeolet, and the ongoing investigation, we have opted to amend our previous filing to only conduct unmanned imaging and survey work at this time.”

With Post wires