First objects retrieved from wreck of Titanic’s sister ship in Greece

Deep-sea divers have retrieved a first batch of objects from the Titanic’s sister ship that sank off the coast of Greece in 1916, including a signal lamp, ceramic tiles and a pair of binoculars.

The Greek culture ministry said on Monday that a research programme had involved “the retrieval of objects from the wreck site [of the HMHS Britannic] for the first time, from depths exceeding 120 metres [394ft].”

The HMHS Britannic was one of three transatlantic passenger lines built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, the first of which was the RMS Titanic.

Requisitioned by the British admiralty to be converted into a floating hospital during the first world war, it struck a German mine in November 1916 while sailing off the Greek island of Kea.

This silver serving tray was among objects retrieved from the HMHS Britannic. Photograph: Greek Culture Ministry/AFP/Getty Images

The vessel sank in less than an hour. Of the 1,065 people onboard, 30 died when the ship’s propellers snagged two lifeboats, the culture ministry said.

The project to document the wreck and its contents was carried out in May by an 11-member team comprised of professional deep-sea divers, using closed-circuit diving equipment.

The research was organised by British amateur historian Simon Mills, founder of the Britannic Foundation, and supervised by a department within the Greek culture ministry responsible for underwater archaeology.

The ministry said: “Conditions at the wreck site were particularly challenging due to currents, depth, and low visibility,” adding that certain objects initially selected could not be retrieved due to their location and preservation status.

The retrieved objects include the ship’s observation post bell, the portside signal lamp, various items of portable equipment from first and second class, ceramic tiles that had decorated a Turkish bath, and a pair of binoculars.

They were transported to the specialised department’s laboratories in Athens for further conservation and are set to feature in a permanent exhibition at a new museum of underwater antiquities currently under construction in Piraeus, the ministry said.

The third vessel of the group, the RMS Olympic, sailed from 1911 to 1935, undergoing safety improvements after the Titanic sank in 1912.