Bow

Clip begins with submersible sitting on the bottom near the prow. The wreck is not in sight.

00:28 - The outboard camera pans around searching for the wreck after it's sighted by the submersible crew.

01:33 - The stem of Titanic's bow looms into view, draped in rusticles.

01:46 - The camera pans down to the mudline, where fallen rusticles and debris litter the sea floor around the bow.

03:00 - A small patch of white paint is visible on the hull underneath the rust.

03:48 - The submersible clears the bow rail and begins to move over the forecastle.

03:57 - A large cloud of sediment and rust particles is kicked up by the submersibles thrusters.

04:51 - A patch of deck planking is visible forward of the #1 cargo hatch. For more information regarding the deck equipment visible on the forecastle deck, view our forecastle deck survey on page 1 of the NOAA 2003 bow footage and its accompanying description.

05:12 - Cargo hatch #1 is missing its hatch cover, allowing easy access into the crew spaces and cargo holds below.

05:33 - A set of steam winches used to lower and raise cargo in hold #1.

06:00 - The collapsed base of the mast and the winches used to power the cargo booms that were once attached to the mast sit at the aft end of the forecastle.

06:24 - The submersible begins a slow pass over the mast.

07:15 - The mast has visibly collapsed from the top down, causing the lower half to fall outwards to accommodate the upper half.

08:33 - A small fragment of metal lays across the mast just below the crows nest door. This fragment is all that remains of the crows nest itself as of 2003. This remnant provides some evidence contrary to the idea that the crows nest was knocked off of the mast by a submersible. Had the crows nest been knocked off, this fragment would have likely gone with it.

08:53 - A small cable is visible running into the interior of the mast. This cable was once attached to the crows nest telephone, which was used by Frederick Fleet on the night of the sinking to warn the officers on the bridge of the danger lying ahead.

09:43 - A close view of the bolts holding the upper portion of the mast to the lower portion reveals several loose bolts.

11:30 - A bracket remains attached to the mast over the crows nest door. This bracket once supported the crows nest bell. The bell has been torn away from the mast, but its mounting bracket remains.

11:38 - Though the area closest to the crows nest remains more intact, the areas above the crows nest and below have both suffered the same top down collapse. Note the empty rivet holes in the torn metal.

12:10 - The boom of the port side well deck cargo crane is visible supporting the mast.

12:40 - The collapsed forward bulwark of the A-Deck promenade is visible in the background.

13:12 - The top of the main section of the mast. The mast used to end on the boat deck, but this main section has broken away from the uppermost portion of the mast and fallen down to A-Deck. Below this portion of the mast, you can see the remains of the port bridge wing collapsed on the deck below.

13:33 - Behind the collapsed iron framework of the boat deck, a forward facing window in a first class stateroom is visible though the glass in one of its panes has been broken.

14:15 - Having finished their survey of the mast, the submersible turns around to inspect the starboard hull breach and the mudline on the starboard side bow.

15:36 - A section of torn steam pipe rests on the aft starboard quarter of the forecastle deck. Nearby, a portion of the hull has fallen away at the well deck level.

17:58 - The submersible approaches the prow from the aft end and begins to descend to the mudline while turning to face the hull. After a silt up occurs, the submersible begins a loop around to the same spot in order to allow the silt to settle.

21:56 - The submersible approaches the bow from roughly the same angle as the first encounter. Some sediment is still floating nearby, but not as much as before.

22:40 - The submersible begins to ascend the mound created by the bow's impact with the bottom.

23:12 - The hull becomes visible rising out of the sediment.

24:19 - The submersible begins moving along the mudline. The crew debates whether there is a gap between the mudline and the hull. Anatoly Sagalevich, the pilot, states that it is quite difficult to tell. The footage certainly helps clarify. Parallax motion is visible as the submersible moves, indicating a somewhat significant gap between the sediment and the hull.

26:05 - Anatoly voices his concerns as the current pushes the MIR close to the hull of Titanic.

26:20 - The MIR encounters the starboard hull breach below the well deck. Anatoly attempts to maneuver away from the obstacle, again voicing concerns.

26:26 - The MIR collides with Titanic below the starboard hull breach.

27:55 - After getting their bearings, it's apparent the MIR has not sustained damage. The submersible turns to face the wreck again. Lori Johnston mentions a need to pick up her rusticle experiments from the bow section, and the decision is made to head for the stern after completing this task. As the submersible turns in towards the bow, the starboard hull breach is visible at relatively close range. A cloud of rust particulate begins to obscure the view of the wreck, and shortly after, the clip ends.

Clip begins with the submersible on the bottom moving towards the bow section. Pieces of debris are strewn across the sea floor.

00:45 - A piece of what appears to be third class china lies half buried in the sediment.

01:08 - Coal lies scattered across a mound of sediment near the aft end of the bow section.

02:33 - Another piece of china, also from third class.

08:18 - Sections of hull plating lie in the sand.

09:20 - The port side hull plating on the broken end of the bow becomes visible. The submersible turns in and starts crossing the wreck to the starboard side. As the submersible moves from port to starboard, note the extremely cloudy water flowing from starboard to port. Sediments on the wreck are often kicked up by strong currents, making the wreck appear to be smoking. This effect is somewhat visible here.

11:48 - The starboard side hull plating at around the B-Deck level marks the outer edge of the starboard side.

12:39 - The B-Deck stateroom windows are still somewhat intact even near the tear.

13:30 - The submersible climbs as currents push it in towards the wreck. For a while the submersible pulls away from the wreck to fight the current.

15:38 - Having gained some footing against the current, the submersible turns back to start a pass along the starboard side of the hull. The current has pushed it back to the end of the tear.

17:31 - The current pushes the submersible in closer to the wreck. The submersible turns towards the forward end of the bow and begins a pass along the starboard side of the promendade.

18:41 - As the submersible passes the windows on B-Deck, it's evident that the ceiling inside has collapsed.

18:49 - The Ceiling of A-Deck has collapsed onto its floor and now lies on top of B-Deck.

19:09 - The submersible climbs over the edge of the boat deck. In the background of the frame, the boat deck starts to slope upwards to its normal position, but holes have opened up in the deck where it's raised off the deck below.

19:17 - The remains of a davit for lifeboat #7 still sit upright on the collapsed deck, though the davit arm has fallen away. A mess of ropes and cables lie wrapped around the base.

19:44 - Another large hole has opened up on the boat deck. Most of the Boat Deck in this area is raised off the deck below, but only by a few inches.

20:11 - The Boat Deck slopes up to its original level. The enclosed A-Deck promenade is missing its outer wall in this area, but some structural supports remain upright.

20:45 - The A-Deck Promenade walls separate at the expansion joint. As a result of the impact with the sea floor and years of decay, this expansion joint has opened up far wider than it was ever designed to. The aft side of the joint has been raised up a few inches to compensate for the downward bend caused by the breakup.

21:22 - A lone anemone has found a home on the outer wall of the enclosed promenade.

22:17 - The #1 lifeboat davit sits over the forward open end of the A-Deck Promenade. Just forward of the davit, the starboard bridge wing has collapsed onto A-Deck, covering the entrance to the promenade.

24:15 - The collapsed remains of the navigation bridge lie on the floor of the forward facing A-Deck promenade. The wheelhouse sits just aft of the collapse relatively unchanged since Titanic was discovered.

24:39 - The windows of forward facing first class staterooms on A-Deck are shrouded in twisted iron girders and collapsed decking.

25:02 - A series of memorial plaques lie against the sole remaining floorboard in the wheelhouse. The telemotor sits intact behind the plaques.

25:58 - The outlines of deck planking are visible on the port side of the bridge. Based on what is visible elsewhere on the bow, it would be a safe assumption that these indicate wood planking remaining on the deck here.

27:17 - A steel cable lies across the deck, likely a signal halyard line which ran from the top of the mast to the roof of the officers quarters.

27:54 - The aft bulwark of the wheelhouse. The signal locker, bridge telephone, watertight door indicator and controls, and doors to the chart room, officers quarters and captains quarters have all disappeared. The remains of the ship's helm was found in the debris against this wall in the 90's and recovered. The helm is now on display at Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

28:06 - A fidley escape cover, forward facing ventilator and the uptake casing for funnel #1 sit just aft of the wheelhouse.

29:15 - The port bridge wing. The foremost section of this area has collapsed on to A-Deck. The guardrail for the emergency staircase, the davit for lifeboat #2 , and portions of the officers quarters wall are visible on the deck.

30:06 - A diagonal support which once supported the outboard guardrail remains standing.

The video starts on the starboard side of the ship on the boat deck near lifeboat davit number 7. This section of the boat deck has collapsed and completely crushed A-deck.

01:25 – One of the lifeboat davits for #7 comes into view. Lifeboat #7 was one of the first lifeboats to be launched. It was launched around 12:40am with only 28 on board. One of the passengers was American silent film star Dorothy Gibson. You can still see the davit is in the launch position.

02:00 – The MIR moves forward along the boat deck. Holes have opened up allowing large sections of this area to collapse onto A-Deck.

03:30 – The MIR passes the start of the collapsed end of the boat deck. The camera pans to the right, showing the A-deck promenade where the boat deck has not collapsed.

03:33 – The MIR’s camera looks into the A-Deck promenade, quite a bit of deterioration/damage has happened to this section on the starboard side of A-Deck. This section should be the enclosed portion of A-deck promenade and is no longer enclosed. Despite the deterioration of the bulwark, the structural supports for the Boat Deck have retained some of their integrity. The MIR continues moving forward up the curve of the collapsed portion.

05:00 – The submersible begins a pass along the edge of the boat deck looking down into the A-deck promenade.

05:11 – The submersible moves up to the boat deck and the camera moves up looking onto the boat deck. In the dark distance you can see some windows from the first class cabins on the boat deck.

05:34- The camera looks down into the A-deck promenade and continues to move forward. The bulwark’s deterioration is much less significant in this area, and the frames of enclosed promenade windows remain in place.

06:29 – As the submersible moves along the starboard side A-Deck promenade, the forward expansion joint comes into view. Titanic was built with two expansion joints, one forward and one aft. These joints allowed the superstructure to flex in heavy seas.

07:06– The submersible continues to move along the edge of the boat deck. This is where lifeboat number 3 would have been. Lifeboat number 3 was the third boat to be lowered from the starboard side, and third overall. It departed Titanic with 38 passengers.

07:40 – The submersible drops down a bit looking back at the A-deck promenade at one of the frames for the window that once was there.

07:55 – The submersible turns back to face the expansion joint.

08:44 – The submersible is pushed back slightly by the current.

11:11 – As the submersible moves forward along the side of the wreck, one of the coaling outriggers comes into view. The submersible continues moving forward along the promenade.

12:35 – The submersible reaches the forward end of the promenade.

12:40 – The windbreaker comes into view for a brief moment. The A-Deck promenade was more than half the length of the ship and sat high in the superstructure. The forward motion of the ship was able to create up to 22 knots of sustained wind that, without intervention, would constantly race down this promenade. This windbreaker sheltered the promenade to prevent this from rendering it unusable at sea. A forward facing window allowed passengers to take in the forward facing views without exposing themselves to the wind.

12:54 – The teak railing of the a-deck promenade comes into view still intact.

13:20 – The debris from the fallen starboard bridge wing. The wing cab’s aft facing window lies face down on A-Deck.

14:03 – On the ground of the A-deck promenade the teak railing from the collapsed bridge wing is visible.

15:17 – The camera cuts to the plaques that are left at the wheelhouse. Titanic’s telemotor is still standing in the background.

15:23 – The camera zooms in. The plaque on the left reads:

Commemorating All Those Lost On RMS TITANIC From The People Of Cobh (Queenstown) And Ireland – August 2000

15:53 – The camera moves in on the next plaque, which reads:

This plaque marks the communication workers unions' respect for the five postal workers who died on duty on this ship and reflects the universal comradeship and enduring loyalty of the postal workers throughout the world.

16:31 – A glass urn that contains some of Mel Fisher’s ashes has been placed at the foot of the telemotor. Mel Fisher was a renowned wreck diver and treasure hunter. He is most famous for his discovery of the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha. He passed away in 1998.

16:52 - A memorial to all lost by Charlie Sachs's Oceanic Navigation Research Society, Inc.

17:00 – Plaque in memory of Frank Busby who passed away in 1990. He was a deep water research vessel developer.

17:05 – The camera pans to port, the edge where the front of the wheel house once stood is still visible.

17:36 – The camera is now looking at what is left of the port bridge wing.

17:51 – the submersible starts heading towards the mast.

20:12 – The bow starts coming into view out of the darkness as the submersible descends closer to the deck.

20:50 – The submersible starts turning to head aft up the bow.

21:02 – The camera points to one of the capstans with the “Explorers Club Plaque” left on it.

21:30 – The submersible starts heading aft.

21:43 – The No 1 hatch comes into view.

22:00 – The camera is looking down the No 1 hatch and continues moving aft at a quicker speed.

22:06 – A steam winch comes into view. This winch was used in loading and unloading cargo from the #1 hatch.

22:46 – Another steam winch comes into view. This winch powered the cargo boom that would be attached to the foremast. The mast boom itself was not carried on board the ship, but rather stored in the docks at New York and Southampton.

22:57 – The bottom of the mast comes into view, the submersibles turns to get it fully in frame.

23:17 – What is left of the crow’s nest comes into view. This is where Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee first saw the iceberg that would seal Titanic’s fate.

23:38 – The submersible continues moving along the mast.

23:45 – At the top right of the camera’s view, the bracket that once held the bell comes into view.

24:06 – The submersible continues moving along the rapidly decaying mast. The top down collapse that was evident in the survey of this area is visible again.

24:22 – The submersible continues moving along the mast, below the mast, the electric cranes used in loading cargo hatches #2 and #3 are visible supporting it.

24:33 – The submersible continues moving aft. The gate leading down to the forward well deck from the b-deck promenade comes into view. The ladder used by the crew is still visible. In port, a staircase was attached to this spot for easier access during cargo loading and unloading, but at sea, the staircase was removed to separate the First and Third Class areas of the ship.

24:42 – The forward B-Deck cabin windows come into view as the submersible follows the mast back to the Boat Deck.

24:54 – The mast has collapsed onto the forward guardrail of the a-deck promenade causing it to fall forward.

25:08 – The submersible has reached the end of the mast. Debris from the bridge has collapsed down to the A-Deck promenade.

25:41 – The submersible has reached what is left of the port side bridge wing.

27:25 – The submersible continues moving aft along the port side of the boat deck.

27:56 – The emergency staircase that runs from the Boat Deck to B-Deck comes into view.

29:19 – In the top right corner of the view the expansion joint comes into view. The camera starts to turn to starboard looking at the roof of the officer’s quarters.

29:39 – The doorway into the officer’s quarters between the 5^th and 6^th officer cabins comes into view. The door has fallen away allowing access to the interior for ROV’s.

29:47 – The railing that once lined the roof of the officer’s quarters has fallen across the open window in 5^th officer Harold Lowe’s cabin.

29:56 – The submersible turns back to face the forward end of the boat deck. A BART test platform has been spotted. One of the objectives of this dive is to inspect these platforms.

30:43 – The forward davit of the #2 lifeboat station comes into view in the cranked out position.

30:56 – The camera turns its view towards one of the IPSCO BART tests. This is a material science test platform that’s designed to show how different types of material decay over time at the wreck site. The 1998 expedition left 4 of these platforms at the site with the intent of leaving them in place for 5 years.

31:01 – The manipulator arm of the submersible is deployed to pick up the test platform by its nylon rope.

Video begins with the submersible hovering over the roof of the officers quarters deckhouse.

00:06 - In the bottom left of the frame, the skylight over the Marconi Wireless Room is visible aft of the expansion joint. A piece of steel lies across the expansion joint and a sits across the expansion joint.

00:56 - A modern net sits on the deck near the remains of a cowl ventilator.

07:00 - After remaining stationary for several minutes, the submersible lifts off from the roof of the officers quarters

07:45 - The top edge of a rear facing ventilator which sits aft of funnel casing #1.

08:24 - The port side of the expansion joint.

08:44 - A teak plank runs along the top edge of the officers quarters deckhouse, terminating in a corner where the officers quarters meets the first class entrance. At the corner, the roof over the entrance has fallen into the deckhouse.

13:07 - After another few minutes of maneuvering through poor visibility, the submersible turns right over the remains of a rear facing ventilator.

19:59 - The submersible reaches the sea floor after descending for several minutes.

20:09 - Coal lies scattered across the sea floor. For the remainder of the clip, the submersible moves across the debris field. Not much is seen, only chunks of coal, pieces of china and unidentifiable objects.

Video starts with submersible moving aft along the starboard side of the A-Deck promenade.

00:01 - A coaling outrigger is visible on the bulwark of the A-Deck Promenade. This outrigger and others like it were used to support a pulley which pulled coal off of barges and lifted it up to the loading doors on the hull. You can read an extensive article detailing the function and purposes of these outriggers on the articles page of our additional resources section.

01:01 - One of the windows on the enclosed promenade shows severe deterioration of the bulwark over it. The window is somewhat slanted, indicating that it may have been loosened by the deterioration.

01:11 - The submersible passes the expansion joint.

01:56 - The promenade's outboard bulwark comes to an abrupt end. The windows have fallen away, and the metal has deteriorated completely.

02:13 - Some of the structural supports for the Boat Deck still remain upright despite the surrounding materials being completely deteriorated.

02:21 - The glass of a window from the A-Deck landing of the Grand Staircase reflects the submersibles lights.

02:30 - The Boat Deck collapses down on to A-Deck just aft of the Grand Staircase.

03:01 - In the background the bulwark of the gymnasium is visible. While the structure is still upright, the entire room has collapsed down to the A-Deck level.

03:41 - The bottom of the aft davit for lifeboat #7 sit on the ruins of the boat deck. The davit arm has been snapped clean off, but what remains indicates this davit was in the cranked out position when it submerged.

04:00 - The windows of the private promenade of cabin B-51/53/57 have shattered, allowing for a brief glimpse of what lies inside. This private promenade accompanied the parlor suite on the starboard side, also known as the "millionaires" suite. This particular cabin was occupied by the party of Charlotte Cardeza.

04:29 - The floor of B-Deck inside the windows begins to slope downwards as the hull buckles near the tear.

04:50 - A large hole in the hull marks the beginning of the outward bend at the tear. Ahead of the submersible, the hull bends out and blocks its progress. The submersible maneuvers to avoid a collision.

05:24 - An aft facing view of the hull at the tear shows the pronounced slope towards the sea floor and the collapse of the decks in the area.

06:20 - A close up inspection of the collapsed tear area begins. Seen here is a corner of the raised roof over the first class lounge. A hole has opened up in the roof, allowing a glimpse into the interior. Unfortunately, the interior here seems to be nothing more than twisted metal and complete destruction. On the edge of the raised lounge roof, some of the vertical stanchions for the handrail in this area remain upright.

08:45 - After descending for around 2 minutes, the submersible passes over the end of the hull plating at B-Deck.

10:57 - After reaching the sea floor behind the bow, the submersible camera inspects the surrounding area for hazards. After ensuring it's safe to be here, the camera returns to a forward view. A steam pipe lies on the sand just ahead of the submersible.

11:19 - The submersible approaches the floor of Boiler Room #2.

12:31 - Behind a collapsed steam pipe, the face of one of the boilers is visible draped in a curtain of rusticles.

12:46 - An impact with the bottom causes a silt up, obscuring the camera's view of the wreck.

15:36 - As the silt cloud starts to clear, the boilers start to become visible again. The dampers on this particular boiler are open, despite having been shut after the collision. In all likelihood, the increasing pressure on the exterior of the boilers caused the dampers to implode. The faces of these boilers are also dented, indicating a similar implosion likely occurred over the surface of the boiler during the descent to the bottom.

15:43 - Another section of steam pipe looms into view at a dangerously close range.

18:44 - After close inspection of the boiler room, the submersible starts to climb again. Here, the top of the boilers are seen supporting the midshipman's platform.

19:22 - The outline of the leading edge of the deckhouse which supported funnel #3 sits at the aftmost end of the boat deck. The funnel casing is not present here, and the only portion of the deckhouse outlined here is the foremost end of it. This evidence indicates that the foremost edge of the breakup was just forward of funnel #3, rather than between funnels #3 and #4 as shown in James Cameron's film.

20:32 - The submersible crosses over to the port side of the raised roof and Boat Deck. Pine decking is visible with similar decay to the decay seen and described in the forecastle survey video.

20:50 - Holes in the raised roof allow another glimpse into the interior. In this particular area, it's difficult to see anything inside, but it does seem like there is more depth beneath the roof here than in other areas. While it's impossible to say for sure without proper exploration of this area, it's not impossible to think that something might remain relatively intact in this area.

21:37 - Another series of holes in the lounge roof. Again, not much is visible inside beyond twisted metal.

23:33 - A fallen lifeboat davit. This particular davit was the aft davit for Lifeboat #8. This davit is in better shape overall than the #7 davit. The davit arm is still attached, though it has bent somewhat.

25:45 - The submersible passes over the port gunwale and begins descending to the A-Deck level.

27:51 - The gangway doors for the port side B-Deck first class entrance vestibule have fallen away.

29:11 - The port side bulwark of the A-Deck promenade is quite heavily deteriorated, allowing an easy view into the promenade in the aftmost portions. Here, it is still heavily deteriorated, but it has retained just enough structural integrity to hold the brass window frames of the enclosed promenade in place, giving a clear view of the frames not seen on the starboard side.

29:37 - The port side of the expansion joint.

29:52 - Another coaling outrigger. The anchor for the lines which supported the pulley system is visible on the tip of this particular outrigger.

31:16 - The port side bridge wing collapses down to A-Deck. A portion of the wing cab hangs over the gunwale.