Titanic Wreck to Go Under the Protection of UNESCO
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Universal History Archive/Getty Images(PARIS) — The iconic sunken luxury liner that has captured both the world’s fascination and curiosity for nearly a century will go under the protection of the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO on April 15.
The wreck of the R.M.S. Titanic will be protected under the 2001 Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage exactly 100 years after its fateful sinking in international waters off the coast of Newfoundland.
Titanic’s sinking was “anchored in the memory of humanity” and it is important to offer protection to a site where 1,500 people lost their lives, director-general of UNESCO Irina Bokova said. “There are thousands of other shipwrecks that need safeguarding as well….We do not tolerate the plundering of cultural sites on land, and the same should be true for our sunken heritage.”
The 2001 convention, which only protects vessels that have been submerged for at least 100 years, will permit only signatory governments authority to seize artifacts stolen from the Titanic and give them power to prevent any exploration on the wreck “deemed unscientific or unethical.”
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