THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 2, 1996 TAG: 9605020404
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
The cruise is on.
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a New York company can keep its status as the sole legal salvager of the shipwreck Titanic.
That means the company can sail full-steam ahead with plans to raise part of the Titanic from the ocean floor this summer.
It also means the company - R.M.S. Titanic Inc., led by George Tulloch - will continue with plans for two August cruises to the salvage site, so sightseers can witness the historic event.
The ruling also means that Tulloch's newest rival, California TV producer John A. Joslyn, cannot move ahead with his plan to salvage the Titanic this summer.
Judge J. Calvitt Clarke Jr. ruled, after hearing three days of testimony, that there is no reason to strip Tulloch of his status as ``salvor in possession'' of the Titanic. He said Tulloch has kept his promise to salvage the shipwreck, maintain the historic artifacts and put them on public exhibition.
Joslyn challenged Tulloch mainly on financial grounds. He argued that Tulloch's company was broke and could not possibly raise enough money for a salvage expedition this year. He argued that Tulloch had, in effect, abandoned the shipwreck since winning ``salvor in possession'' status in 1994.
Tulloch, however, said he will finance his expedition this year - his fourth to the Titanic - by selling cruise tickets to sightseers and lumps of Titanic coal to collectors.
Tulloch could get about $2.4 million in profits from the cruise, a marketer testified Wednesday. The marketer said his company has already sold about more than $250,000 of coal, at $25 per lump plus $5 for postage and handling.
If the two cruise ships from Boston and New York sell out, then 2,200 passengers would be on hand to see Tulloch raise a 33-foot section of the Titanic's hull. Cruise tickets are $1,800 to $6,950 per passenger.
Tulloch's marketing company has already sold 336 of the 525 Boston ship cabins, and 58 of the 580 New York ship cabins.
``We're very excited that we are going to be able to continue this work,'' said Tulloch's attorney, F. Bradford Stillman.
Joslyn's attorney, Lawrence Cohen, said he may appeal the ruling. He said Joslyn, a documentary film-maker, may go ahead with a Titanic expedition anyway. The only restriction, Cohen said, is that Joslyn could not take artifacts from the shipwreck.
The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic on April 15, 1912. About 1,500 passengers and crew members were killed.
The wreck was discovered on the ocean floor in 1985. Since then, Tulloch has led salvage dives in 1987, 1993 and 1994, raising more than 3,600 artifacts. Those items were displayed at the National Maritime Museum in England in 1994 and 1995, breaking attendance records. About 750,000 people visited that exhibition. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
The ruling means that R.M.S. Titanic Inc., led by George Tulloch,
left, will continue with plans for two cruises to the salvage site
and that Tulloch's rival, TV producer John A. Joslyn, cannot move
ahead with his plan to salvage the Titanic.
by CNB