Sorry folks for not posting in a while. Things have been somewhat hectic lately.

1) On the auction front, there has been some interesting items that sold. An affidavit signed by Titanic survivor Laura Francatelli fetched $31,937. A poster of Titanic from 1912 sold for $95,792.

2) Titanic:The Artifact Exhibition is coming to London’s 02 Arena starting on 2 Nov 2010.

3) Despite criticism from some quarters, reports indicate that bookings for the Titanic 2012 cruises are filling up.

4) Blast from the past: From press reports it appears the owners of Deepwater Horizon, the rig involved in the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, plan to use the same liability law that Titanic’s owners did in 1912. The Limitation of Liability Act limits the liability of the owner of a vessel to the value of its interest in the vessel at the end of the voyage. In 1912 this law was used by the owners to limit their liability to just under $92,000 (the value of surviving lifeboats and equipment). Thus claims made against White Star were limited to that amount no matter the actual value of the loss.

5) The recent Titanic 2 movie was exactly as predicted. It came out and sank quickly.

6) Ghostly Titanic? Every year I learn of some Titanic connected ghost story. Personally the one that makes the grade is from Ghostbusters II when Titanic docks and its passengers (all ghosts) disembark!

7) Your hear strange things on the Internet. Someone out there claimed that the salvage award was not done in the right court of law or that the judge was the wrong one. In the United States, federal courts have original jurisdiction on all admiralty and maritime cases. And judges that hear those cases are federal not state judges. Sometimes federal judges are referred to as district judges. Since federal courts are judicial districts, a federal judge can also be referred to as a federal district judge.

While people can disagree on whether salvage of Titanic was right or wrong, RMS Titanic Inc (RMST) did follow correct procedure by going to a U.S. federal court to get a salvage award. Since they had items in their possession which came from Titanic, this allowed the court (under recognized salvage law) to gain jurisdiction. The original decision, with modifications made by an appeals court, has been upheld. Just because Titanic was flying the Union Jack in 1912 does not confer immunity from salvage as some might claim. Salvage law allows for this to happen since it presumes salvage is done on behalf of the owner.