Precious artefacts recovered from Titanic on the seabed are to be returned to Belfast. A group of museums and film maker James Cameron have teamed up to buy the entire Titanic Artefacts Collection. Last year Premier Exhibitions, the US firm with rights to salvage items from the Titanic wreck, filed for bankruptcy. Now The Royal Museums Greenwich, National Museums Northern Ireland, Titanic Belfast and Titanic Foundation plan to buy the Titanic Artefacts Collection and its 5,500 pieces and bring them home to Belfast where the ship was built. The collection includes a piece of the hull and sets of china from the ship. The plan is backed by The National Geographic Society and Dr Robert Ballard, the oceanographer who discovered the wreck. It is understood the bid is in the region of £14.5 million.
The ship sank after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage in 1912, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,500 people. The last port of call was Queenstown, now Cobh, in Cork Harbour.
A section of the hull recovered from the seabed
Titanic