A Letter to RMS Titanic, Inc. (Now Premier Expeditions, Inc.): Leave it Alone by James Paradie

For the past few months, I've been doing these Titanic Facts on Facebook and my friends seem to really love them. I've posted them on my website and the response seems to be really good as well. On one of my facts, I said that RMS Titanic, Inc. owns the Titanic and that they auction off items they've brought up from the wreckage. I said, it was a form of grave robbing and that I'd get back to that later. Today is later.

Now, I have no doubt in my mind that the higher ups or even the lower downs of this company will never see this letter or even bother to read it. That's fine. But as a huge supporter of the reservation and well-being of the world's most famous shipwreck, I do think it merits me to voice my opinion. So, let's begin shall we ...

April 14th can be viewed as anything. It could be a friend or relatives birthday, an anniversary, or the date of a big event. To a select few though, it is a time of remembrance and sorrow. It is another year gone by of the tragic sinking of the Titanic.

Some people will say, "Who cares?" And you'll be surprised by the answer, a lot do. It's like 9/11  - yes, it happened in 2001, and that was almost thirteen years ago, but still ... we show our respects on the anniversary. Why should the Titanic tragedy be any different? Just like 9/11: you had heroes, you had victims, you had loss, you had hope, cowards, con artists, and conspiracies. Titanic had all these too and though it doesn't serve as the all time highest death-rate in maritime history, it is the story behind it that gives it it's larger than life presence. Some people are not ignorant and say, "Well, it happened a long time ago, so let it go." History is what made us, so we should preserve it, honor it, and learn from it.

Some people are pulled in from different points of view on the Titanic. It could be because its apart of history; it can be because they have a love of ships; or it can be because of the controversies and myths that go behind the Titanic. It could be anything. With me, it's a mixture of all those, but I think it's also because of my interest in the paranormal. And with the paranormal, a lot of cases that you take on, tragedy is always the back drop of the story. Titanic was a tragedy and speaking from a paranormal investigator point of view, the Titanic could have a lot of lost souls who have been left behind. It's sad. That and I believe I've always viewed abandoned properties as a beautiful thing, because again, it has to do with history. With the Titanic, you look at the Promenade Decks or WHERE the Grand Staircase used to be and you just think, "What would it be like to rewind the clocks and be there?" What emotions would go through your mind if you were, say, on the stern of the ship when the band was playing, just moments before the ship went down? Or finding the Titanic's architect, Thomas Andrews, in the smoking room, just staring at a painting, knowing that his ship of dreams is doomed. What if you could rewind that clock and tell people like Andrews that in today's world, he isn't viewed as a failure, but a hero. Unfortunately, time travel is just not in the foreseeable future and nobody has invented a real-life Flux Capacitor yet. But if you love the Titanic and want it to be around for future generations to enjoy, then please hear me out.

RMS Titanic, Inc. thinks its okay to go down to the wreck, pick up items from it, bring it back up, and sell it for their own profit. Why? They can say its about bringing history to the masses or whatever, but, and to put it bluntly, you're actually raping history.

It's like those who go to a temple, dig up a sarcophagus, display it a museum, and say, "Oh, look, a mummy!" No. Mummies are fictional characters in movies. What you have on display was once a living human being. What you have is someone who did NOT give you permission to rob their final resting place and exploit them for the whole world to see.

"We're doing it for science!"

"We're doing it for history!"

You're doing it for your own greedy notoriety.

I have no problem with people going to the pyramids and paying their respects by putting flowers at the grave or what-have-you, but a grave robber is a grave robber. And RMS Titanic, Inc. is no different. I'm not saying they're an evil corporation or anything like that. I'm sure in their minds they think their intentions are good. But, and I'm sure in the eyes of many, their intentions are not as noble as they might think. Check out this video below.



In the video, you can see some differences from when the ship was discovered in 1985 and recently. The best way I can describe it is how Robert Ballard did, if there is no means of security at the Titanic, they will keep on stripping all of the jewels off the ship until there is nothing left. That's just sad. What attracted me was all these human items still there, as if frozen in time, as if the occupant just stepped out and will be back in short time. As you saw in the video, in 1985 the crows nest was still there, now its gone. Probably due to someones disrespectful nature. All these light red areas are due to submarines landing there. It exposes a new area, thus rusting the ship even more.

Titanic does need security. Whether it may be cameras covering all corners of the debris field, the bow and stern section. You can't have boats on site due to the Atlantic's hectic weather conditions. What do they do? It is tough, but someone needs to think of something.

The camera thing could work. But what about subs landing on the ship itself? That needs to stop. You're only causing even more damage to the ship. I have nothing against people going down there and viewing the ship in person, because I'd love to do that if I ever have the money ($60,000 for those who wanted to know.) But submarines shouldn't be allowed on the ship. What about some form of scaffolding? Make it so it's close enough to the ship, but not actually on the ship. Make them high enough to see the top of the ship and there you go. Course, you'd need a pretty strong scaffold, because the subs they use are very heavy; nor to mention that over time it would rust and be liable to break once pressure is applied. Just an idea.

I'm also not saying that RMS Titanic, Inc. has to get all the items back and send it back down to the bottom of the ocean. But to now cease before any more damage can be done.

I've enjoyed watching documentaries on this ship, reading countless books, and just earning even more knowledge on the most famous shipwreck. I'd love to see future generations enjoy the same things I did and to see the ship the way I first saw it. Intact and not degraded.