Image of the Titanic corroding underwater

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Will the Titanic Vanish?

Researchers are racing to explore the shipwreck before it’s gone forever. 

October 16, 2023
By Nina Strochlic

In the years since Robert Ballard found the remains of the Titanic in 1985, others have also made remarkable discoveries. For instance, while exploring the wreck in 1996, researchers found the rooms of Edward Smith. He was the ship’s captain. The explorers could see inside to Smith’s bathtub. 

But on a 2019 visit to the site, the bathtub was no longer visible. A section of the upper part of the ship had collapsed, burying the captain’s rooms.

That’s because the Titanic has been slowly deteriorating under the sea for the past 111 years.

The Titanic was already damaged when it snapped into two pieces and hit the seafloor in 1912. Since then, nature has also taken a toll. Some experts think the wreck could be mostly gone within the next few decades. 

“This isn’t going to be there forever,” says Tad Fitch. He’s written four books about the Titanic. “So if we’re going to study it, it’s now or never.”

Rotting Away

For decades, ocean currents, salt water, and sea creatures have worn away the Titanic. In the past, submersibles have crashed into the ship or landed on its deck, causing pieces to fall off. 

But the most alarming threats are tiny living things called bacteria. Some metal-munching bacteria form rusty, icicle-like formations called rusticles and eat away at the wreck. 

Portions of the Titanic have already disappeared. The crow’s nest, where a lookout once yelled, “Iceberg, right ahead!,” is gone. So is one of the decks where passengers gathered to escape the sinking ship.

Some experts say the Titanic could disappear in the next 10 to 20 years.

Damage Is Done

Beginning with Ballard’s expedition, researchers have spent years photographing the Titanic. In 2022, a company called Magellan took the clearest images yet. They show that the Titanic may be in bigger trouble than experts once thought. The remaining decks are in bad shape. So is the front of the ship, called the bow. It has nearly collapsed.  

“You can really see where the ravages of time have started to cause it to break apart even further,” Fitch explains.

How Deep Is the Titanic Wreck?

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The shipwreck is about 12,500 feet below the ocean’s surface. That’s about as deep as nine Empire State Buildings stacked on top of each other.

Note: The ship is not drawn to scale.

Not Forgotten

Scientists know the Titanic won’t be around forever. Even though the ship has been studied for years, there is still more historians can learn.

“We continue to find new things over time,” Fitch says.

But getting down to the site is difficult, expensive, and dangerous. Projects like Magellan’s give experts the chance to study the ship up close without having to visit the pitch-black ocean floor. 

For Fitch, it’s about more than the ship. He wants the public to learn more about the people who lost their lives on the Titanic.

“We need to preserve their memory so future generations don’t forget,” Fitch says. “It’s up to historians and researchers.”

Pieces of the Past

Since the Titanic went down in 1912, thousands of objects from survivors and from the wreck have been studied. Here are a few.

Roslan Rahman/AFP via Getty Images

Items like jewelry, clothing, and shoes offer clues about the ship's passengers. 

Mary Altaffer/AP Images

This hat belonged to William E. Hine, a baker on the ship. 

Michel Boutefeu/Getty Images

These binoculars were used by the lookouts in the crow’s nest. 

John Lamparski/WireImage/Getty Images

First-class passengers sipped from fancier cups (left) than those used by third-class passengers (right). 

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