New Photos Show Titanic’s Iconic Bow Collapsing

RMS Titanic Inc.

An underwater drone that recently ventured down to the Titanic wreck in the Atlantic Ocean has captured photos showing the ship’s bow collapsing.

A comparison photo from 2022 shows that the bow was largely intact a couple of years ago but now a 15-foot section of the railings on the port side has disappeared.

The latest scans and images of #TITANIC reveal many changes to the wrecksite and provide insight into how the great liner is deteriorating. A notable change is the loss of a 15-foot section of railing from the port side bow. pic.twitter.com/HxbLQ2S5R8

— RMS Titanic, Inc. (@RMSTitanic_Inc) September 2, 2024

The expedition was conducted by RMS Titanic Inc. over July and August this summer. The team sent two remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) which captured more than two million photos and 24 hours of high-definition footage of the wreck. The Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg in April 1912 resulting in the deaths of 1,500 people.

The bow of the famous ship was immortalized in the 1997 movie Titanic starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack and Kate Winslet as Rose in a famous scene when Rose uttered the words: “I’m flying, Jack.”

“The bow of Titanic is just iconic — you have all these moments in pop culture — and that’s what you think of when you think of the shipwreck. And it doesn’t look like that anymore,” Tomasina Ray, director of collections at RMS Titanic Inc, tells the BBC.

“It’s just another reminder of the deterioration that’s happening every day. People ask all the time: ‘How long is Titanic going to be there?’ We just don’t know but we’re watching it in real time.”

The new images from #TITANICExpedition2024 reveal one thing for sure: #TITANIC is changing.
After 112 years at the bottom of the #NorthAtlantic, the hostile ocean environment has taken a toll on TITANIC. pic.twitter.com/y8DKTj8Qi7

— RMS Titanic, Inc. (@RMSTitanic_Inc) September 1, 2024

The bow isn’t the only part of the ship — that lies 2.3 miles below the surface — that is succumbing to the sea. Microbes are eating away at the metal structure, creating stalactites of rust called rusticles.

While down there, the ROVs captured a photo of a bronze statue known as the Diana of Versailles which was first spotted in 1986 but the location of it was lost until now.

Fine art decorated the halls and rooms throughout #TITANIC, but beauty is a delicate thing. Much of TITANIC’s fine art was made of organic materials, breaking down into the earth after many decades submerged in the hostile environment of the #NorthAtlantic. pic.twitter.com/zVauzPWDTq

— RMS Titanic, Inc. (@RMSTitanic_Inc) September 1, 2024

RMS Titanic Inc. describes the discovery of the 23-inch tall figure as a “needle in a haystack”. The statue was displayed for first-class passengers of the Titanic.

“The first-class lounge was the most beautiful, and unbelievably detailed, room on the ship. And the centrepiece of that room was the Diana of Versailles,” James Penca, a Titanic researcher and presenter of the Witness Titanic podcast, tells the BBC.

“But unfortunately, when Titanic split in two during the sinking, the lounge got ripped open. And in the chaos and the destruction, Diana got ripped off her mantle and she landed in the darkness of the debris field.”

Image credits: RMS Titanic Inc