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Plan to retrieve Titanic radio spurs debate on human remains

RMS Titanic Inc. says remains would've dissolved in the harsh ocean environment. The luxury ocean liner sank in 1912 after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic.

Credit: AP

This 2004 photo provided by the Institute for Exploration, Center for Archaeological Oceanography/University of Rhode Island/NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration, shows the remains of a coat and boots in the mud on the sea bed near Titanic's stern. A company’s plan to retrieve the Titanic’s radio has sparked a debate over whether the famous shipwreck still holds human remains. (Institute for Exploration, Center for Archaeological Oceanography/University of Rhode Island/NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration)

NORFOLK, Va. — A company’s plan to retrieve the Titanic’s radio has sparked a debate over whether the famous shipwreck still holds human remains.

Lawyers for the U.S. government have raised the question during their ongoing court battle to block the planned expedition. They cite archaeologists who say remains could still be there.

The lawyers say RMS Titanic Inc. fails to consider that in its dive plan. But the company says human remains likely would’ve been noticed after roughly 200 dives to the site.

The company also says remains would've dissolved in the harsh ocean environment. The luxury ocean liner sank in 1912 after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic.

Credit: AP

This 2004 image provided by the University of Rhode Island's Institute for Exploration and Center for Archaeological Oceanography and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Ocean Exploration shows the shoes of one of the possible victims of the Titanic disaster. A company’s plan to retrieve the Titanic’s radio has sparked a debate over whether the famous shipwreck still holds human remains. (Institute for Exploration and Center for Archaeological Oceanography/University of Rhode Island/NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration via AP)