The first operation to enter the shipwrecked Titanic is being launched, in what divers say is a race against time before the rapidly-deteriorating wreck is lost to the sea forever. The company that owns the salvage rights plans to enter the sunken vessel, which lies off the coast of Newfoundland, in order to recover passengers' jewellery. Salvagers believe the ship's officers hastily packed the valuables into leather pouches in the final desperate minutes before the liner sank after hitting an iceberg. It is thought they were stored in the cargo hold to prevent them being looted. He said the company hoped to recover some of the first-class luggage from the cargo hold as well as the registered mail.
Divers also hope to recover the captain's log, which recorded the ship's movements up until the end.
But Ms Dean said it was wrong to allow divers onto the ship, which took the lives of 1,500 crew and passengers. But Mr Harris said it was their job to preserve history. His company has promised not to sell the artefacts but to preserve them for future generations. RMS Titanic's 243-foot Ocean Intervention, which will be joined by two ships from Russia and Britain, each carrying a small submarine, will continue searching until August.