Deep-sea divers have recovered the first objects from the wreck of HMHS Britannic, the sister ship of the RMS Titanic, which sank off the Greek island of Kea in 1916 after striking a German mine. The retrieved items include a signal lamp, ceramic tiles, and a pair of binoculars.
The Greek culture ministry announced on Monday that a research programme had achieved 'the retrieval of objects from the wreck site for the first time, from depths exceeding 120 metres'. The Britannic was one of three transatlantic liners built at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast, with the Titanic being the second.
Requisitioned as a hospital ship during the First World War, the Britannic sank in less than an hour after hitting a mine. Of the 1,065 people on board, 30 died when the propellers caught two lifeboats. The mission, carried out in May by an 11-member team using closed-circuit diving equipment, was organised by British amateur historian Simon Mills of the Britannic Foundation.
The ministry noted challenging conditions at the site due to currents, depth, and low visibility, which prevented the retrieval of some selected objects. Among the recovered items are the ship's observation post bell, the portside signal lamp, portable equipment from first and second class, ceramic tiles from a Turkish bath, and binoculars.
The artefacts have been transported to Athens for conservation and will feature in a permanent exhibition at a new museum of underwater antiquities in Piraeus. The first vessel of the trio, RMS Olympic, served from 1911 to 1935 and underwent safety upgrades after the Titanic disaster.
