Titanic Photograph:( Reuters )
Citing archaeologists who say remains could still be there, the lawyers say the company fails to consider the prospect in its dive plan.
No one has been able to find human remains in the depths of Titanic despite diving exercises being carried out for almost 35 years.
But what if there still are human remains that might get lost due to search operations being continuously held.
This question has brought the company's, which has the rights for search operations, new plans to a screeching halt.
The company had planned to retrieve the ship's iconic radio equipment. But lawyers for the US government have raised that question in an ongoing court battle to block the planned expedition.
Citing archaeologists who say remains could still be there, the lawyers say the company fails to consider the prospect in its dive plan.
Retrieving the equipment would require an unmanned submersible to slip through a skylight or cut into a heavily corroded roof on the ship's deck. A suction dredge would remove loose silt, while manipulator arms could cut electrical cords.
The dispute stems from a larger debate over how the Titanic's victims should be honoured, and whether an expedition should be allowed to enter its hull.
In May, a federal judge in Norfolk, Virginia, had approved the expedition.
As many as 1,500 people had died in the tragedy.