Titanic Law and Policy : The Wreck’s Role In Changing International Maritime Safety and Salvage Law

This open access book highlights the historical significance of Titanic, and its impact on law, including the first treaty on maritime safety - the Safety Of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS).

This open access book highlights the historical significance of Titanic, and its impact on law, including the first treaty on maritime safety - the Safety Of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS). The work covers the laws that protect Titanic, e.g., the 1986 RMS Titanic Maritime Memorial Act, the international agreement on Titanic, and the 2017 implementing legislation that enabled its Entry into Force between the US, and UK. UNESCO's 2001 Convention has also protected Titanic since 2012. The authors specifically address the evolution of these laws and policies from their perspectives.  They explain how a US District Court has jurisdiction over a British flagged vessel under the high seas and the decades of litigation that resulted in Orders of the court that protect the public interest in Titanic. It has taken decades for the Agreement to become law, which now seeks to safeguard the wreck site of Titanic as a Maritime Memorial, a historic and archaeological resource that is being preserved.