"Hostile environment"

Bow rail gone: the Titanic falls apart

A piece of the railing on the port bow of the Titanic has broken away.

(Bild: APA/AP)

The Titanic is inexorably decaying in its ocean grave. "After 112 years at the bottom of the North Atlantic, the hostile ocean environment is taking its toll on the Titanic," reports the company RMS Titanic, owner of what is probably the most famous shipwreck in the world. The deterioration is particularly visible on the ship's iconic bow, where part of the railing is already missing. 

Images from the most recent research expedition to the wreck this summer show the decay. According to the company, the bow has now lost around four and a half meters of its railing, which is now lying on the seabed.

For decades, it had been a testimony to the Titanic's resilient strength. The drastic change in the pictures is a reminder that she is actually falling apart.

The ravages of time have also taken their toll on this bronze statue.

(Bild: APA/AP)

Two million photos taken during the expedition
During the expedition in July and August - the company's first since 2010 - more than two million photos of the wreck were taken. The luxury steamship, advertised as unsinkable when it was launched, collided with an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in 1912 and sank. Around 1500 of the more than 2200 people on board died. The wreck was found in 1985 south-east of the Canadian province of Newfoundland at a depth of around 3800 meters.

The Titanic in 1912

(Bild: nyiragongo - stock.adobe.com)

According to RMS Titanic, the expedition also uncovered "countless" artifacts that will be lifted in future missions. Among them is a gem, the rediscovery of which on the seabed has delighted the researchers: it is a bronze statue of the Roman goddess Diana, around 60 centimetres high, which was once enthroned on a mantelpiece in a first-class lounge.