Team Captures First 4K Footage of Titanic, Reveals Startling Deterioration

Few historical events have remained in the public consciousness quite like the sinking of the Titanic, and after over a century of sitting on the bottom of the Atlantic, a production team has captured 4K footage of the wreck for the first time.

Atlantic Productions captured the footage for an upcoming documentary, marking the first time the ship has been visited in about 14 years. 

Of course, the difficulty is that the wreck of the Titanic lays at a depth of about 12,500 feet in two large pieces, where unfathomably high pressures necessitate the use of specialized equipment to protect both the divers and machines that visit it.

The footage has revealed that the ship is in an advanced state of deterioration, with some scientists predicting that it will be completely gone in about 30 years. So severe is the rapid deterioration that the captain's bath, once a favorite image of enthusiasts, is now gone. This can be attributed to several factors, namely corrosion, strong ocean currents, and iron-eating bacteria that are slowly reclaiming the ship. In addition, the massive ship's weight is becoming its own enemy as it grows weaker. 

There's no word on when the documentary will be out, but when it is, it will surely be stunning to see. 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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10 Comments

Fascinating, although, annoyingly I have just re-watched the episode of South Park with James Cameron in, and now the theme tune won't get out of my head.

We do need to send him down to raise the bar again though

What a tease. wish they had shown more. At least show the stuff you talk about.

This made the main news broadcast in the UK, I was trying to work out why they were making a huge thing about how the ship is deteriorating, it’s at the bottom of the ocean!

Interesting shots though.

I was wondering that too. Old metal, bottom of sea. Long time. Things do tend to disintegrate.
I think they’ll be trying to tie it into climate change arguments before long.

I can’t remember the exact wording used but I did make some sarcastic comment to my girlfriend about the huge iceberg maybe being the cause of its problems and not ‘iron eating bacteria’

Exactly.

All this while we see wooden ships from BC era still being found intact, including parts of their cargo. Craftsmanship has deteriorated :)

Wood is easily preserved if it settles in clay, or various types of mud∕soil. Steel does not. If there is moisture, and salt, it will rust and corrode away. Craftsmanship has nothing to do with it.

I made even more money than you watching YouTube cat videos...