Titanic replica (Sichuan) trademark has been abandoned. James Cameron's 1997 "Titanic" movie enjoys great and lasting popularity in China, and introduced the Chinese masses to the Titanic story. The importance of this movie as a reference point for the Chinese developers is indicated by the fact that actor Bernard Hill, who portrayed Captain Edward Smith in Cameron's film, was present at the launch of the project and was named the "honorary captain" of the vessel to be constructed. The investors behind the Sichuan replica approach the 1912 tragedy primarily as a story of heroic self-sacrifice in the face of disaster. The CEO of
Wreck of the RMS Titanic but have been consumed by other organisms. "Titanic" sank in 1912, when she collided with an iceberg during her maiden voyage. Numerous expeditions tried using sonar to map the sea bed in the hope of finding it, but were unsuccessful. In 1985, the wreck was finally located by a joint French–American expedition led by Jean-Louis Michel of IFREMER and Robert Ballard of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The wreck has been the focus of intense interest and has been visited by numerous expeditions. Controversial salvage operations have recovered thousands of items, which have been conserved and put on public display.