Explorers to salvage Titanic telegraph

A salvage firm can retrieve the Marconi wireless machine that the crew of the RMS Titanic used to signal for help, a judge ruled on Monday. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith’s decision amends an earlier order blocking RMS Titanic Inc. from cutting into the wreckage of the ocean liner. Beach said the company has a unique opportunity to recover an artifact from the rapidly decaying ship. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration argued against the mission, saying the telegraph is likely surrounded “by the mortal remains of more than 1,500 people.”

How will the company retrieve the artifact? An unmanned submersible will either slip through a skylight or cut into the roof to get to the machine. The company said it will exhibit the telegraph alongside stories of the men who worked to save the ship when it struck an iceberg and sank in 1912, killing all but 700 of its more than 2,000 passengers and crew.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Cal Thomas’ report on the 100th anniversary of the disaster in 2012.