In 1993 a US court declared RMST the custodian of the wreck. It was granted the right to recover artifacts for the sole purposes of exhibition and education, but the artifacts were to remain public property – although the terms of the agreement were not fully spelled out.

The publically-traded RMST struggled financially. And, its top managers were at odds with both the company’s shareholders and US government regulators. They wanted to sell the artifacts for a profit. The courts refused and lawyers on both sides were busy for years negotiating a thick book of covenants and conditions.

In 2004, RMST’s shares were bought up by Premier Exhibits, Inc. of Atlanta, Georgia. Premier is equally known for its “Bodyworks” exhibits (of plasticized cadavers) which have been seen around the world by millions of people.

Since then, Premier has improved RMST’s exhibition and marketing abilities. Its travelling exhibition, “Titanic: the Artifact Exhibition,” has been seen in dozens of major cities around the world. And, there’s a permanent exhibition at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas. In Canada, the travelling exhibit was most recently in Calgary – where it just finished a five month run in June.

In 2007 RMST’s new managers sought a salvage award from the US District Court in the amount of $110 million – as either a payment of cash or an award of title to the artifacts – for its work in salvaging and conserving the artifacts recovered in multiple dives after 1987. Those artifacts not on display are housed in the company’s special temperature controlled warehouse in Atlanta.

In 1993, a French court awarded RMST title to 1,800 artifacts, valued at $35 million fair market value, that were recovered in 1987 by the company working in conjunction with the Institute of France for the Research and Exploration of the Sea (IFREMER).

Under the terms of last week’s court decision, RMST could still sell its Titanic artifacts, but everything must be kept together (the 1987 and post 1987 artifacts collections) as one single collection. And, the buyer would be subject to the same conditions applicable to Premier.

Premier must also comply with provisions that will guarantee the long-term protection of the artifacts. The company has already agreed to establish a preservation trust for the independent maintenance and conservation of the artifacts should the company, say, go out of business.

As a sign of good faith, RMST embarked on a purely scientific expedition to Titanic in 2010 in co-operation with, from the US, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the National Parks Service’s Submerged Resources Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Sanctuaries Program, the Institute of Nautical Archaeology and the Waitt Institute.

The goal of last year’s expedition was to map and film both sections of the wreck, and the debris field in-between, using the latest in underwater remote sensing technologies - including several state-of-the-art autonomous underwater vehicles. Some of the expected data and footage was destined to be used for new multi-media elements in an updated and redesigned Titanic Artifacts exhibition, according to the company. Unfortunately, the trip was cut short due to bad weather.

So, for now, the Titanic’s treasures appear to be properly cared for.

But, RMST’s history should serve as a lesson to other jurisdictions, such as Nova Scotia, when it comes to adequately protecting its underwater cultural resources.

Rob Rondeau
Senior Marine Archaeologist
PROCOM Marine Survey & Archaeology
www.facebook.com/procomsurvey

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