The US authorities decided to prevent the expedition to the site of the sinking of the Titanic

They did not like the plans to raise the radio station of the deceased liner from the ocean

The US Attorney’s Office is filing a court motion to block an expedition to the site of the sinking of the ocean liner Titanic, scheduled for next year.

The US government has filed a motion to end the Titanic’s 2024 expedition, citing a law that protects and preserves a shipwreck as a burial site.

According to CNN, the expedition was organized by RMS Titanic Inc., which owns the exclusive rights to search for the remains of the Titanic.

The legal battle comes just months after the tourist submarine Titan went missing and suffered a catastrophic crash that killed all five passengers aboard the deep-sea submersible. The United States’ petition is unrelated to this incident, which involved simply a tour of the wreck rather than an attempt to salvage anything from the most famous shipwreck of the 20th century.

In a motion filed in federal court in Virginia, the US alleges that RMS Titanic Inc. must “obtain permission from the Secretary of Commerce” before conducting “any survey, reconnaissance, salvage, or other activity that might physically alter or disturb the wreck of the Titanic, unless authorized by the Secretary of Commerce.”

The remains of the Titanic were first discovered in 1985 on the Canadian continental shelf. To protect the wreck from any potential harm or physical alteration caused by American rescuers, the US Congress passed the Titanic Memorial Act in 1986. The law directed the State Department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which reports to the Department of Commerce, to negotiate an international agreement that went into effect in 2019.

According to the statement, RMS Titanic Inc. received disposal rights under a US District Court ruling in Norfolk, Virginia in June 1994.

The US argued in court documents filed on Friday that under an international agreement, the company “does not have the right to override this federally enforceable law.”

A similar lawsuit took place in 2020, CNN recalls.

For its part, RMS Titanic Inc. said she wanted to raise a ship’s radio station from the bottom of the ocean, a request that was granted in May 2020 by a U.S. District Judge. In that statement, the court said they had concluded that the company’s plan “aimed at minimizing damage to the rest of the wreck of the Titanic, including the ship’s hull and the remains of those 1,500 souls who were shipwrecked.” The US government, however, filed a lawsuit to stop this planned mission, which ultimately never took place.

RMS Titanic Inc. said in a periodic report filed this June that the company is planning an expedition in 2024 but “does not intend to seek permission,” according to a petition filed by the US government.

The Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia told CNN, “We are not issuing any additional statements beyond what is in the case file at this time.”

As recalled by CNN, the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 14, 1912 after colliding with an iceberg in the North Atlantic. The ship did not have enough lifeboats for the approximately 2,220 people on board. More than 1,500 people died as a result of the accident, and the Titanic became the most famous shipwreck in history.