I have followed this story from the beginning, and have been appalled by the number of people using it as an opportunity for virtue signaling about the migrant boat disaster. It's just appallingly self-righteous and callous to attack these doomed men - human beings with families, no matter how rich they are - just to prove how much more moral and clever they are by announcing they care more about a less well-known disaster.
I also disagree with wanting exploration of the Titanic banned. It is reactionary, in my opinion. It's not a gravesite any more than the tens of thousands of other shipwrecks that divers visit are gravesites. Shipwrecks are interesting. Battlefields are interesting. They are an important part of history. I can't easily dive as a non-swimmer with epilepsy, but I would happily dive the many wrecks local to me if it was possible. That's not because I would enjoy thinking about the people who died, but I would enjoy exploring the history and seeing the things in real life. I don't see that this is any different from the Titanic, morally. I think people are more aware of the human loss from the Titanic because it is so well-publicized from the movie. Most shipwrecks involved death.
I also don't see that it is any more morally wrong to disturb the Titanic than it is to disturb the tombs of ancient Egypt. Some of their religious beliefs involved the objects they were entombed with being necessary to join the afterlife, and this is continuously disregarded. Yet the study of history is very important, and no one tries to stop the archeological study of ancient Egypt. Actually studying the Titanic is less wrong, because these victims didn't have any attachment to their inadvertent final resting place and probably wouldn't view it as a "grave". Also it will degrade soon anyway, so I for one am glad that effort is made to preserve it by bringing pieces up, and to increase our knowledge. I am grateful to experts like Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
Finally, I am not going to judge the men for wanting to do this. It is their choice to take this risk. A lot of adventure and exploration involves risk. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay could have died climbing Everest, like the men before them, and many after. Same with Ernest Shackleton and his Antarctic exploration team. They are lauded now, but it could so easily have been different. The Titan 5 would probably have got praise and been seen as brave and daring if their trip had gone as planned.
There are so many risky activities like base jumping, motorbike racing, cave diving and the like. It doesn't mean we're entitled to judge people with these hobbies and sneer at them when they die. It's doesn't make it any less sad when they die pursuing their passion.
Families are just insane.
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