US moves to block Titanic artefacts auction over salvage rights dispute

Washington,UPDATED: Jun 23, 2026 03:20 IST

A plan to auction more than 100 artefacts recovered from the Titanic wreck is facing opposition from the US government, according to newly unsealed court documents. The items include personal belongings, currency, kitchen articles and decorative pieces.

RMS Titanic Inc, which holds exclusive salvage rights to the wreck in the North Atlantic, wants to sell artefacts for the first time despite earlier agreements under which the items were to be shown only in museums and travelling exhibitions. The company has also proposed putting the artefacts on a global exhibition tour across four cities, though the locations have not been made public.

Court filings in the US referred to the Georgia-based company's plan to sell items including a bronze cherub, a necklace of gold nuggets and a heart-shaped pendant. The Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which represents US interests and oversight at the wreck site, has argued that such a sale would breach the company's legal obligations.

In seeking to block the auction, the government said the company "does not seek the court's approval, does not believe that approval is required, and asserts that it is not restricted in its ability to sell" the artefacts. Representatives for RMS Titanic did not respond to requests for comment on Monday. However, its lawyers had earlier said in a federal court filing that the proposed auction arrangement would not violate existing court orders and agreements covering the artefacts.

Since 1987, the company has recovered thousands of items from the site, along with parts of the Titanic's hull, and has earned money by exhibiting them. Over the past two decades, it has also tried to sell artefacts to fund future expeditions and deal with financial difficulties, but those efforts were strongly opposed by US courts, preservation groups and relatives of those who died in the disaster. Some of the recovered items belonged to passengers on the ship.

By contrast, objects preserved by survivors or picked up from the water by rescuers can be sold and have often fetched large sums. A life jacket worn by a passenger sold for just over USD 900,000 in April, while a gold pocket watch given to the captain of the ship that rescued survivors sold for nearly USD 2 million in 2024. Auctioneers say enduring public interest in the Titanic, along with the rarity of such objects, drives strong demand and very high prices.

Opponents of any sale of artefacts recovered from the wreck say the company is bound by an agreement from the 1990s that granted it exclusive salvage rights in return for a promise that the artefacts would never be sold. Some undersea explorers have also objected to the idea, saying the objects should be displayed in the public interest. "I don't have a problem with people recovering artifacts from the Titanic as long as it's done carefully, with proper archeological techniques," said Greg Stone, a veteran ocean explorer and ocean scientist. "I'd feel better if it was a nonprofit enterprise."

Richard Daynard, a law professor at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston who specialises in public interest advocacy, said rules on the display and sale of Titanic artefacts were meant to preserve the wreck for the public so it could not be "picked up by billionaires for further display of their wealth and power". He added: "If it's something where someone can walk through their house and say 'Yes, I bought this for USD 5 million and it's original from the Titanic', that's not a good thing." The dispute centres on whether the recovered items should remain part of public exhibitions or be allowed to go under the hammer.

With PTI Inputs

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