16 U.S.C. § 450rr — R.M.S. Titanic; international maritime memorial; findings and purposes

(a) Findings. Congress made four findings: (1) the R.M.S. Titanic, the ocean liner that sank on her maiden voyage after striking an iceberg on April 14, 1912, should be designated an international maritime memorial to the men, women, and children who perished aboard her; (2) the discovery of the Titanic, lying more than twelve thousand feet beneath the ocean surface, demonstrates the practical applications of ocean science and engineering; (3) the Titanic, well preserved in the cold, oxygen-poor waters of the deep North Atlantic Ocean, is of major national and international cultural and historical significance and merits appropriate international protection; and (4) the Titanic represents a special opportunity for deep ocean scientific research and exploration. (b) Purposes. Congress declared the purposes of sections 450rr to 450rr–6 of this title are: (1) to encourage international efforts to designate the Titanic as an international maritime memorial to those who lost their lives aboard her in 1912; (2) to direct the United States to enter negotiations with other interested nations to establish an international agreement that will provide for designating the Titanic as an international maritime memorial and protect its scientific, cultural, and historical significance; (3) to encourage, in those negotiations or other forums, developing and implementing international guidelines for conducting research on, exploration of, and, if appropriate, salvage of the Titanic; and (4) to express the sense of Congress that, pending such an international agreement or guidelines, no person should physically alter, disturb, or salvage the Titanic in any research or exploratory activities conducted.