New Delhi: Titanic, in its watery grave, is a great museum of human history and is at risk of being lost forever because of curious voyagers and treasure hunters, fears Bob Ballard, who first discovered the remains of the iconic ship in 1985.
Famous for discovering the great ship, Ballard is a former US Navy officer and a professor of oceanography.
Ballard says Titanic is a 'museum of human history without door and guard'. "I am deeply concerned about not only the Titanic but all the ancient history that is now at risk. If we cannot save this iconic ship then there is very little hope we can save ancient ships."
"World should realise that you don't have to go down and take everything and you do not have to do a treasure hunt. This is a common heritage of all of us and if we really want to take steps to preserve human history in the ocean we need to start with Titanic," Ballard told PTI in a telephonic interview from London.
Ballard has tied up with National Geographic to present a documentary 'Save the Titanic' on the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the great ship on April 15, 1912. The documentary, along with 'Titanic: The Final Word with James Cameron' and 'Titanic: Case Closed', will go on air on April 14.
The ship and her fate continue to fascinate, largely because of the large-scale horror that took place that night with 1,522 passengers and crew losing their lives.
Ballard says that despite being on the ocean floor for 100 years, the ship is full of human footprints.
"You will find pair of shoes everywhere. The sea and the life below has claimed everything but they do not know what to do with shoes so you will find a pair of mother's shoes next to her little daughter and that's their gravestone. At her
wreckage we almost felt that we were surrounded by the lifeboats of all the people that were in the water at that very spot."
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