A new expedition has revealed that part of the famous railing on the bow of the Titanic — where the fictional Jack Dawson declared himself “king of the world” in James Cameron’s film — has broken off.
RMS Titanic Inc., a company that has the salvage rights to the wreckage, discovered the decay during a series of robotic expeditions to the Titanic site this summer. The venture also led to the discovery of a lost statue depicting the Roman goddess Diana.
The Titanic Expedition 2024 captured over two million photos of the wreckage, located more than 3,655 metres below sea level in the North Atlantic Ocean. On the mission’s 13th day, researchers said they were “shaken” when they noticed a visible change in the decaying ship.
The Titanic’s bow, which the expedition team said rises from the sea floor as “a testament to her strength and defiance,” is now missing a 15-foot-long portion (about 4.5 metres) of its railing. The railing has become famous in popular culture thanks to a romantic scene from the 1997 film Titanic, which saw Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet “fly” at the ship’s bow.
The railing is missing on the Titanic’s port side. It now lies on the seafloor directly below.
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“We are saddened by this loss and the inevitable decay of the Ship and the debris,” RMS Titanic Inc. said in a statement.
(Left) The bow of the Titanic shipwreck, photographed in 1994. The iconic railing is intact. (Right) The bow of the Titanic shipwreck, photographed in 2024. Part of the railing is missing and is visible on the digitally enhanced seafloor.
RMS Titanic Inc.
RMS Titanic Inc. said it will continue to monitor the Titanic shipwreck over the next few weeks and months to conduct a more thorough review of the ship’s current condition and decay over time.
“Although Titanic’s collapse is inevitable, this evidence strengthens our mission to preserve and document what we can before it is too late,” the company wrote.
One of the first images of the Titanic shipwreck, captured during an expedition in 1987.
RMS Titanic Inc.
Part of the 2024 expedition was to scout and map artifacts for potential future recovery.
The voyage hoped to locate a two-foot-tall (less than one metre) bronze statue of the Roman goddess Diana, which formerly stood as a centrepiece in the ship’s first-class lounge. The lounge was torn open when the Titanic sank, launching the statue and countless other artifacts onto the seafloor.
On the 2024 expedition’s final day, Diana was found lying face-up in a debris field around the Titanic.
The statue of Diana of Versailles was photographed in the Titanic’s debris field.
RMS Titanic Inc.
Though the statue of Diana was discovered once before in 1986, “secrecy around the Titanic wreck ensured her location would remain unknown,” researchers wrote. Footage from earlier expeditions in recent years identified the since-lost statue in the debris field, and assisted researchers in locating and photographing the Diana figure.
RMS Titanic Inc. said the new images showcase “the beautiful and intricate details of Diana not seen in 112 years.”
A virtual recreation of the Titanic’s first-class lounge, with the bronze statue of Diana depicted on the mantle of a fireplace.
RMS Titanic Inc. via Titanic: Honor and Glory
The objectives of the RMS Titanic Inc.’s 2024 expedition include site preservation and digital mapping of the wreckage and debris field.
More than 1,500 people perished when the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean. The ship was sailing on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.
The Titanic wreck was discovered in September 1985. Fascination with the wreckage and its artifacts has persisted for decades, with many recovered items featured in international museum tours or sold to the highest bidder at auction.
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