Act would protect Titanic site

WASHINGTON – One hundred years after the sinking of the Titanic, lawmakers are moving to further protect the shipwreck site.

The R.M.S. Titanic Maritime Memorial Preservation Act would impose penalties of up to $250,000 a day and five years in prison on any U.S. vessel or American that disturbs the wreckage without permission or brings illegally recovered artifacts into the country.

The Titanic, the wreck of which was found in 1985, sank off Newfoundland on its maiden voyage from Britain to New York in April 1912 after hitting an iceberg.

It lies in international waters, but the legislation seeks to thwart “looting and unscientific salvage” of Titanic artifacts – even by foreigners – by establishing penalties for bringing them into the United States and by subjecting them to seizure by the government.