AGREEMENT CONCERNING THE SHIPWRECKED VESSEL
RMS TITANIC
The States Parties to this Agreement,
Recalling the sinking of the British flag White Star Lines ocean liner RMS Titanic on her maiden voyage on April 15, 1912, in waters of the northwest Atlantic 325 miles southeast of Newfoundland, Canada, in which the lives of 1,523 of the 2,228 persons on board were lost;
Aware that since RMS Titanic was first located on the Canadian continental shelf in 1985 it has been the object of a number of subsequent explorations and that over 5,000 artifacts have been recovered;
Mindful that further dives, if not properly regulated, risk disturbing the remains of those for whom the RMS Titanic is their final resting place and the integrity of the wreck and its remaining artifacts;
Cognizant of the unique historic significance and symbolic value of, and international interest in, RMS Titanic;
Considering the relevant provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea[1], including Article 303 thereof;
Desiring that artifacts henceforth recovered from RMS Titanic be kept together and intact as project collections in a manner that can provide for public access and the curation of such project collections in perpetuity;
Seeking to ensure the protection of RMS Titanic and its artifacts for the benefit of present and future generations; and
Recognizing that in situ preservation is the most effective way to ensure such protection, unless otherwise justified by educational, scientific or cultural interests, including the need to protect the integrity of RMS Titanic and/or its artifacts from a significant threat;
HAVE AGREED as follows:
Article 1
For the purposes of this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires,
(a) "RMS Titanic" means the shipwrecked vessel RMS Titanic;
- ↑ Treaty Series No. 81 (1999) Cm 4524
