For the first time ever, the wreck of Titanic will be protected by an agreement that will restrict the work of discovery missions.
The treaty signed by the US and the UK has the power to grant or deny licenses to enter the ship and remove items found its body.
The UK Maritime Minister, Nusrat Ghani, said the agreement would ensure the site was "treated with the sensitivity and respect owed to the final resting place of more than 1,500 lives".
The plans set for the recovery of Titanic's wreck include the removal of a roof on the ship to retrieve items including the wireless system used to make the ship's final distress signals.
The US Company RMS Titanic announced it planned to use underwater robots to remove a roof on the ship so it could retrieve items including a Marconi wireless system.
The Daily Telegraph wrote that "in the few coming years, the roof is expected to collapse, which will bury the wreck forever and destroy the oldest radio in the world".
The luxury boat, which sank on April 15, 1912, after striking an iceberg, rests at over 350 miles from Canada's Newfoundland Coasts. The wreck, which sank in two pieces, has long been deteriorating due to erosion, biological activity, and deep ocean currents. However, the various expeditions that attempted to reach the boat, including those led by director James Cameron, are believed to have damaged the wreck.
The wreck has previously been given a basic level of protection by UNESCO. But, its sinking site in the international waters had formerly deprived it from any explicit protection legislations. The new treaty will provide a full protection of the famous boat.
The United Kingdom signed the treaty in 2003, but it has only come into force after its ratification by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in November last year.
