NOAA's Ocean Explorer Titanic Collection

Collection Summary

Following The Guidelines for Research, Exploration and Salvage of RMS Titanic (pdf, 103 KB) issued under the authority of the Act, the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER) has conducted two field expeditions and has collected and disseminated data from the sunken RMS Titanic.

The first of these expeditions was conducted in June 2003. This expedition consisted of an 11-day research cruise to the wreck site aboard the Russian Research Vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh. Working with both Canada and Russia, the goal for this joint venture was to assess the wreck site in its current condition and provide an opportunity to conduct scientific observations for ongoing research.

A subsequent NOAA expedition in 2004 was conducted to study the ship's rapid deterioration.

Between the two expeditions, OER provided the world with breathtaking views of the sunken Titanic as well as important data for protecting this and other submerged cultural resources. Links to expedition information and logs, educational resources developed by OER, images, and video footage are provided here.