RMS Carpathia Objects
Treated at the CSI Studio in District Heights, Maryland for a Traveling Exhibit
The RMS Carpathia made her maiden voyage on May 5, 1903 from Liverpool to Boston, and sailed between New York, Trieste and numerous Mediterranean ports. On Sunday evening, 14 April, 1912, Carpathia was on her way from New York to Gibraltar when she received the Titanic’s distress signal. By 4.00 am the nearby ship Carpathia reached the last known coordinates of the Titanic, rescuing only 705 of the 2228 people on board. With the onset of World War I, Carpathia was part of a convoy when she was torpedoed on July 17, 1918 off the east coast of Ireland by the German submarine U-55. 157 passengers and the surviving crew were rescued by HMS Snowdrop the following day.
The location of the Carpathia, off the south coast of Ireland, has been known since 2000; however, at over 500 feet under the surface of the ocean, survey and recovery from the wreck-site was limited to ROV (remote operated vehicle) equipment. The first salvage expedition to collect artifacts from the wreck-site was undertaken in August 2007 by Premier Exhibitions, Inc., the same company with salvor-in-possession rights to the R.M.S. Titanic wreck-site.
The first expedition recovered nearly 100 objects, including engine telegraphs, portholes, binoculars, china, and wine bottles. These objects were delivered directly from the ship to the CSI studio in District Heights, MD.
The artifacts were treated by first desalinating them using a combination of electrolysis and ultrasonic cleaning methods. After which they were cleaned, dried, and appropriately protected for inclusion in an upcoming exhibit.
Click here to download a printable PDF version of this page.






