The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit’s1 decision in R.M.S Titanic v. Haver, 2 the most recent case concerning the ongoing salvage operations of the R.M.S Titanic, is instructive for two reasons. First, the jurisdiction of the United States Federal Admiralty Courts to regulate salvage rights to the wreck of the Titanic, which lies in international waters,3 was brought into question, (which had hitherto not been adequately addressed by US courts in previous cases involving the wreck4 ). Secondly, the court had to determine the scope of the salvage rights granted to the salvor in possession; in particular, whether the salvor in possession had the exclusive right to observe and photograph the wreck. Although the finding of the court is to be welcomed in that it maintains consistency in international maritime and admiralty law and conforms to the territorial limitations of international law, it does highlight the inadequacies of this system of law as it applies to historic wrecks, such as the Titanic .

The wreck of the Titanic was discovered on 1 September 1985 by a joint expedition from the US Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and the French Government’s Institute for the Research and Exploration of the Sea (“IFREMER”).5 The joint expedition returned in 1986 to film and photograph the wreck, and explicitly refused to recover any artefacts, believing that the wreck should remain undisturbed as a memorial to those who had died.6

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