Since 1912, there have been numerous exploratory and salvaging projects regarding the Titanic. But, the world had to wait 73 years for the French-American team, led by Jean-Louis Michel, an engineer with the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (Ifremer), and the geologist, Robert Ballard, from the Woods Hole Institute (Cape Cod, USA), to achieve what was believed impossible: thanks to its sidescan sonar and video cameras, the pilotless underwater tow sled, named Argo, recorded the first images of the Titanic on 01 September 1985; the image of a blue-shaded boiler.

These technologies revealed that the Titanic rests 3,800 meters below the surface. You would have to stack from top to bottom more than 12 Eiffel towers (300 meters tall) to reach the surface of the water from the wreckage. The enormous pressure (380 bars) at this depth precludes exploration of the site without the aid of sophisticated underwater devices designed especially for deep waters. Thanks to his partnership with Ifremer, the French Oceanographic Institute, and the Institute of Oceanography, P. P. Shirshov of the Moscow-based RMS Titanic Inc. had access to this technology.

Six expeditions were undertaken during the summers of 1987, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2000. Their goal was to retrieve objects from the wreckage site. RMS Titanic, Inc. carried out a sixth expedition from 26 July to 23 August 2000, a period during which more than 800 objects were recovered in 28 diving operations. Among those objects included parts of the ship and personal effects – like jewellery, letters, and perfume – as well as plates and silverware of the White Star Line.