During an expedition to the remnants of the liner in June 2004, Dr. Ballard studied digital pictures from a deep-sea vehicle and found that the deck had cracked in many places, and some conspicuous objects, such as the ship's bell and the mast beacon were missing.
People can only reach the famous ship in deep-sea submersibles. There are only four such vehicles in the world: one belongs to France, one to Japan, but the best vehicles, Mir-1 and Mir-2, are owned by Russia. Only Russia and France arrange trips to the Titanic. The tour lasts about two weeks on average. Each dive takes about ten hours: two and a half hours down, the same back and five hours on the seabed. The vehicle accommodates a pilot and two passengers. A tour costs $35,000.
Dr. Ballard believes that tourists have stolen the objects from the Titanic. He says they not only take the ship to pieces looking for souvenirs, but also cause significant damage to it by demanding that the pilot land the submersible right on the deck. Now, the vessel, which was already suffering from the effects of corrosion, is crumbling very quickly.
However, Russian scientists have denied Ballard's allegations. "We make scientific and tourist dives to the Titanic," said Yevgeny Chernyayev, a Mir pilot. "But taking souvenirs is out of the question." Indeed, no tourist can lift anything from the ocean's bottom without help from the pilot. An object 4km beneath the waves can only be picked up using a special electric arm operated by a professional.
