Titanic: “We do not tolerate the plundering of cultural sites on land…”

According to the BBC report notes, once the centenary of its sinking has passed on April 15, the wreck of the Titanic will be protected under Unesco’s 2001 Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage.  From the BBC report

The convention aims to prevent unscientific or unethical exploration.

Irina Bokova, director-general of Unesco, said the sinking of the Titanic was “anchored in the memory of humanity” and it was important to protect the site where 1,500 people lost their lives.

“There are thousands of other shipwrecks that need safeguarding as well… We do not tolerate the plundering of cultural sites on land, and the same should be true for our sunken heritage,” she added.

Which is fine.  But a little late…

RMS Titanic Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Premier, is the only company permitted by law to recover objects from the wreck of the Titanic. It has conducted seven research and recovery expeditions to the Titanic and brought back more than 5,500 artifacts.

A century after the tragic 1912 sinking of the luxury ocean liner off the coast of Nova Scotia, the New York auction house Guernsey’s is offering up salvage rights to the shipwreck along with all 5,500 artifacts recovered since the site was discovered about two decades ago.