Back in 1912, a ship was launched called the RMS Titanic. At the time, the world was a very difference place, and things did not happen on the scale they do now. These days, all one has to do is turn on the television, and the news talks about all the things that have happened including tragedies were planes have crashed, buildings have collapsed, and yes, even ships that have run aground and sank. However, back in 1912, such disasters were uncommon. As mentioned in th previous article, the movie Titanic, that came out in 1997, inspired people to come up with idea for how to raise the Titanic, but some of these ideas actually date back to 1912, when the ship first sank. Here is a list of the other 5 interesting ways that people have come up with in order to bring the most famous ship in the world back to the surface.
6. Bring the Ship Up One Piece at a Time
Back in 1996, the idea was put forth to raise one small piece of the RMS Titanic. The idea involved retrieving a small section of the hull that was away from the ship itself, and out in the debris field. Named “The Big Piece,” this section of the Titanic’s hull measured 24 feet by 16 feet, and an idea was put forth to bring it to the surface using bags filled with diesel fuel, which is a lot lighter than water. It took two attempts, and two years, but in 1998, the piece of Titanic‘s hull was raised. After three years of conservation efforts, and a nice coating of wax, the piece is on display in the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas. However, while raising this one piece of the ship did eventually succeeded, there are no more plans to raise any other part of it for now, but who knows, that may change as the ship continues to deteriorate.
7. Use a Giant Scoop or Claw
While it is true that construction equipment can get pretty big in order to create gigantic buildings and skyscrapers, there has yet to be one big enough to pick up a ship that is lying two miles under water. The ship is split into two sections, and the bow is the only part of the ship in one giant piece. but it still measures over 400 feet long, not to mention the fact its plowed deep into the mud. While the idea of a giant scoop is nto really that far fetched, there are other things to consider such as transportation to the North Atlantic, and the fact it would have to travel two miles under water just to reach the Titanic‘s location.
8. Deep Water Electrolysis
One of the most interesting ideas put forth to bring Titanic from her watery grave was to use something called deep water electrolysis. This process involved extracting the hydrogen and oxygen from the water around the ship, then put it in containers lashed to her bow. The hydrogen especially would be quite buoyant, and was once used to fill airships like the Hindenberg, and the ship would rise to the surface. However, the process of extracting the hydrogen and oxygen is extremely expensive, and getting the equipment necessary that far down underwater is not plausible, nor is there any guarantee it would actually work.
9. Use Explosives to Blow the Ship Apart
Vincent Astor was the son of John Jacob Astor, who lost his life during the Titanic’s sinking. Distraught over the death of his father, Astor put forth an idea to blow the Titanic up so the body of his father, and everyone else who died, could be retrieved. However, when the Mackay-Bennett went to retrieve bodies from the site of the disaster, they did recover John Jacob Astor, and returned his body to shore for burial by his family.
10. Fill the Ship with Compressed Air
A giant hose from a compressor machine could theoretically be sent two miles down to fill the ship with air. The idea is that compressed air going into the Titanic would force the water out, and the ship would rise to the surface like a giant balloon. However, the problem is that with so many holes in the ship, it may not be possible to make the ship air tight enough to actually fill with air and float.
Such interesting, and unique ways, for the Titanic to be raised! However, out of the 10 ways presented, only one has actually been tried, and that was the raising of The Big Piece back in 1998. Everyone who studied the ship wants to see her raised, but the fact is she is protected by law, and it would be best to let the ship lie where it is and serve as a monument to those over 1500 people that died that tragic night. Perhaps, one day, another piece of Titanic will be raised, but for now there are no such plans, and those that want to see the piece of her that has breached the surface, can head to Las Vegas and the Luxor Hotel. One small square of Titanic has been preserved for all time, and that may be all of this once grand ship to ever see the light of day.
Rest in Piece Grand Lady of the Sea…
