R.M.S. Titanic will give up salgage rights to famous ships

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA - The world&#39;s most famous shipwreck is up for grabs again. <br> <br> RMS Titanic Incorporated, the Atlanta company that has salvaged the Titanic since 1987 but has suffered recent setbacks, announced this week that it will give up its rights to do so and will conduct no more expeditions. <br> <br> That could prompt a race among salvors to get to the Titanic first, perhaps as early as next summer. The wreck can be salvaged only during summer months because of weather in the North Atlantic, where the luxury liner sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. <br> <br> The company announced its plans in papers filed Tuesday in Norfolk&#39;s federal court and with the Securities and Exchange Commission. <br> <br> Federal judges in Norfolk have overseen the salvage since 1992, when the original salvage claim was made. The court awarded sole salvage rights to RMS Titanic in 1994. <br> <br> RMS Titanic conducted six salvage expeditions, the last in 2000, at a cost of eleven million dollars. <br> <br> Many of the six-thousand artifacts recovered are at public exhibitions around the country. One exhibition will open October fifth at the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond.

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