Plan to auction over 100 Titanic artifacts faces US government opposition

A plan to auction more than 100 artifacts salvaged from the wreckage of the Titanic – including personal belongings, currency, kitchen items and decor – is facing pushback from the US government, according to newly unsealed court documents. RMS Titanic Inc, the company that owns exclusive salvage rights to the famous wreck deep in the North Atlantic, wants to sell the artifacts for the first time despite previous agreements to only display them at museums and traveling exhibitions. Georgia-based RMS Titanic proposed auctioning the artifacts and displaying them on a global tour in four cities, although those locations haven’t been publicly revealed. Court documents filed in the US referenced the company’s plan to sell artifacts including a bronze cherub, a necklace of gold nuggets and a heart-shaped pendant. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) represents US interests and oversight in the wreck site. The agency contends such a sale would violate RMS Titanic’s legal obligations to the site, according to documents a judge ordered unsealed earlier this month. In arguing that the auction should be prohibited, the government wrote that 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 artifacts. Representatives for RMS Titanic did not respond to requests for comment on Monday. …