In the early hours of 15 April 1912, RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean after striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage. She was the largest ship afloat at the time and was carrying an estimated 2,224 people on board. Only around 710 people survived the disaster.
The wreck of RMS Titanic was discovered in 1985. Since then numerous expeditions have been mounted to photograph the exceptional site, which is located 350 nautical miles from the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, some 12,000 feet below sea level.
Here are 10 eerie underwater photographs of the Titanic wreck.
Titanic is probably the most famous shipwreck of all time. It was the largest and most luxurious ship in the world when it launched on 31 May 1911. Built in Belfast, Northern Ireland by Harland and Wolff, it was intended for transatlantic passage between Southampton, England and New York City in the United States.
At 11.39 on 14 April, four days after departing Southampton, lookouts spotted an iceberg dead ahead of the ship. The crew desperately tried to avoid the collision, but the iceberg struck the vessel on its starboard side, leaving a 200-foot gash in the ship into which water began to seep.
By midnight, the order had been given to prepare the lifeboats. During the following desperate hours, distress signals were sent by radio, rockets and lamps. The ship broke in two, and by 2.20 am the still buoyant stern had sunk.
The wreck of the Titanic was discovered in 1985. This photograph of the wrecked Titanic‘s bow was taken in June 2004 by the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Hercules.
Microbes at work nearly 4 kilometres under the sea feed off iron on the ship, forming “rusticles”. Given the way the embrittled steel at the stern of the ship provides a better “habitat” for rusticles, scientists have determined that the stern section of the ship is deteriorating at a faster rate than the bow section.
Rusticles grow on either side of the window frames belonging to the Titanic. The icicle-like rusticle formations appear to pass through a cycle of growth, maturation and then fall away.
Most of RMS Titanic remains in its final resting place. It is located 350 nautical miles from the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, some 12,000 feet below sea level.
After the Titanic sank on 15 April 1912, some objects were salvaged among the flotsam and jetsam. Salvage of the ship was impossible until 1985, when modern technology was used to make remotely operated approaches on the vessel. Not only is the ship almost 4 kilometres underwater, the water pressure at that depth is over 6,500 pounds per square inch.
It was long thought that the Titanic sank in one piece. Though previous expeditions had been mounted, it was the 1985 Franco-American expedition led by Jean-Louis Michel and Robert Ballard which discovered that the ship had split apart before sinking to the seabed.
The ship’s stern and bow lie around 0.6 km apart in a site since named Titanic Canyon. Both sustained huge damage when they collided with the seabed, especially the stern. The bow, meanwhile, contains relatively intact interiors.
The debris field around Titanic is around 5 by 3 miles large. It is spread over with furniture, personal items, wine bottles and parts of the ship. It is from this debris field that salvagers have been permitted to collect items.
While many of Titanic’s victims who would have worn life jackets may have been swept miles away, some victims are thought to have lain in the debris field. But decomposition and consumption by sea creatures has likely left just their shoes. The possibility of extant human remains has been raised, however. Proponents argue that the wreckage should be designated a gravesite with prohibitions on salvage.
The centre anchor and two side anchors were among the last items to be fitted to Titanic before her launch. The centre anchor was the largest ever forged by hand and weighed nearly 16 tons.
The Titanic wreck continues to deteriorate. A submersible dive in 2019 identified the loss of the captain’s bathtub, while another submersible vehicle crashed into the ship later that year while filming a documentary.
According to EYOS Expeditions, “intense and highly unpredictable currents” resulted in “accidental contact [being] occasionally made with the seafloor and on one occasion the wreck”.
Fish have been pictured in the vicinity of the Titanic wreck. On the surface, the water’s freezing temperatures meant that many of the survivors in the water died of hypothermia before the first rescuers on board RMS Carpathia arrived around 4 am on 15 April 1912.
Aprili 15, 1912 - Meli ya RMS Titanic ilizama katika Bahari ya Atlantiki ya Kaskazini baada ya kugonga barafu katika safari yake ya kwanza. Meli hiyo ilikuwa kubwa zaidi wakati huo na ilikuwa na watu 2,224 ndani yake. Watu 710 tu ndio waliokoka msiba huo. Meli ya RMS Titanic iligunduliwa mwaka 1985. Tangu wakati huo, safari nyingi zimepangwa ili kupiga picha eneo hilo la kipekee, ambalo liko maili 350 za baharini kutoka pwani ya Newfoundland, Kanada, karibu mita 12,000 chini ya usawa wa bahari. Picha 10 za chini ya maji za Titanic Titanic ni meli maarufu zaidi ya wakati wote. Meli hiyo ilikuwa kubwa zaidi duniani na yenye kifahari zaidi wakati ilipoanza kuendeshwa mnamo 31 Mei 1911. Meli hiyo ilijengwa huko Belfast, Ireland Kaskazini na kampuni ya Harland na Wolff, na ilikusudiwa kusafiri kupitia bahari ya Atlantiki kati ya Southampton, Uingereza na New York City, Marekani. Wakati wa saa 11:39 asubuhi tarehe 14 Aprili, siku nne baada ya kuondoka Southampton, walinzi waliona barafu iliyokuwa mbele ya meli. Wafanyakazi wa meli hiyo walijaribu sana kuepuka mgongano huo, lakini barafu hiyo iligonga meli hiyo upande wa kulia, ikiacha shimo la futi 60 ndani ya meli hiyo ambalo maji yalianza kuingia ndani yake. Kufikia saa sita usiku, amri ilikuwa imetolewa ya kutayarisha mashua za kuokoa uhai. Katika saa zilizofuata za kukata tamaa, ishara za dharura zilitumwa kwa redio, roketi, na taa. Meli hiyo ilivunjika vipande viwili, na kufikia saa 2:20 asubuhi, sehemu ya nyuma ya meli hiyo ilikuwa imezama. Meli ya Titanic iligunduliwa mwaka 1985. Picha hii ya meli ya Titanic iliyoharibiwa ilichukuliwa mnamo Juni 2004 na chombo cha kuendesha kwa mbali (ROV) Hercules. Vimelea vinavyofanya kazi karibu kilomita nne chini ya bahari hujaza chuma kwenye meli, vikifanyiza "rustiki". Kwa kuzingatia jinsi chuma kilichoharibika kwenye sehemu ya nyuma ya meli inavyotoa "mahali" bora kwa ajili ya rusticles, wanasayansi wameamua kwamba sehemu ya nyuma ya meli inaharibika kwa kasi zaidi kuliko sehemu ya mbele. Vipande vya mbao hukua pande zote mbili za fremu za madirisha ya Titanic. Maumbo hayo yanayofanana na barafu yanaonekana kuwa yanapita katika mzunguko wa ukuzi, kukomaa, na kisha kuanguka. Sehemu kubwa ya meli ya RMS Titanic inabaki mahali pake pa mwisho pa kupumzika. Inapatikana kilomita 350 za baharini kutoka pwani ya Newfoundland, Kanada, karibu mita 12,000 chini ya usawa wa bahari. Baada ya Titanic kuzama Aprili 15, 1912, vitu kadhaa vilipatikana katika mabaki ya meli. Kuokoa meli hiyo ilikuwa vigumu hadi mwaka 1985 wakati teknolojia ya kisasa ilipoanza kutumika kwa njia ya kusafiri kwa mbali. Meli hiyo iko chini ya maji kwa kilomita nne na shinikizo la maji katika kina hicho ni zaidi ya pauni 6,500 kwa inchi mraba. Kwa muda mrefu ilidhaniwa kwamba meli ya Titanic ilizama ikiwa imefungwa. Katika mwaka wa 1985 kikundi cha watafiti wa Ufaransa na Marekani kilichoongozwa na Jean-Louis Michel na Robert Ballard kiligundua kwamba meli hiyo ilikuwa imegawanyika kabla ya kuzama. Meli hiyo ina sehemu ya nyuma ya meli iliyojengwa kwa urefu wa kilomita 0.6 na iko katika eneo linaloitwa Titanic Canyon. Zote mbili ziliharibiwa sana zilipogongana na sakafu ya bahari, hasa sehemu ya nyuma ya meli. Wakati huohuo, sehemu ya ndani ya mashua hiyo haijaharibiwa. Mifupa ya Titanic ina ukubwa wa kilomita tano kwa tatu. Imefunikwa kwa fanicha, vitu vya kibinafsi, chupa za divai na sehemu za meli. Ni kutoka katika uwanja huu wa mabaki kwamba waokoaji wameruhusiwa kukusanya vitu. Ingawa huenda wengi wa wahasiriwa wa Titanic ambao wangevaa mavazi ya kuokoa uhai walipelekwa mbali sana, inaaminika kwamba baadhi ya wahasiriwa walikuwa wamelala katika mabaki ya meli hiyo. Lakini uharibifu na ulaji wa viumbe wa baharini yaelekea umeacha viatu vyao tu. Hata hivyo, uwezekano wa kuwapo kwa mabaki ya kibinadamu umezungumziwa. Wafuasi wanasema kwamba mabaki ya meli hiyo yanapaswa kuonwa kuwa kaburi na marufuku ya kuokoa mabaki hayo. Ngome ya katikati na ngome mbili za upande zilikuwa miongoni mwa vitu vya mwisho kuingizwa kwenye Titanic kabla ya kuzinduliwa. Ngome hiyo ilikuwa kubwa zaidi kuwahi kutengenezwa kwa mikono na ilizidi uzito wa tani 16. Mabaki ya meli ya Titanic yanaendelea kuharibika. Katika mwaka wa 2019, ndege ya chini ya maji iligundua kuwa na bamba la kuogelea la nahodha, wakati gari jingine la chini ya maji liligonga meli hiyo baadaye mwaka huo wakati wa filamu ya maandishi. Kulingana na EYOS Expeditions, "mtiririko mkali na usioweza kutabiriwa" ulisababisha "kuwasiliana kwa bahati mbaya [kufanywa] mara kwa mara na sakafu ya bahari na katika tukio moja meli hiyo iliharibiwa". Samaki wamechorwa karibu na mabaki ya meli ya Titanic. "Kutokana na hali ya hewa ya chini ya joto, wengi wa waokokaji walikufa kutokana na hypothermia kabla ya waokoaji wa kwanza kwenye RMS Carpathia kufika karibu saa 4 asubuhi Aprili 15, 1912."""