HMHS Britannic filming the wreck for National Geographic. In 2012, on an expedition organised by Alexander Sotiriou and Paul Lijnen, divers using rebreathers successfully installed and recovered scientific equipment used for environmental purposes, to determine how fast bacteria are eating "Britannic"s iron compared to "Titanic". Having her career cut short in wartime, having never entered commercial service, and having had few victims, "Britannic" did not experience the enthusiasm aroused upon the mention of her name, unlike that of her sister ship "Titanic". After having been long ignored by the public, she finally gained fame when her wreck was discovered. Her name was
Sinking of the RMS Titanic the hull plates. This suggests that the iron rivets along the plate seams snapped off or popped open to create narrow gaps through which water flooded. An engineer from "Titanic"s builders, Harland and Wolff, suggested this scenario at the British Wreck Commissioner's inquiry following the disaster but his view was discounted. "Titanic"s discoverer Robert Ballard has commented that the assumption that the ship had suffered a major breach was "a by-product of the mystique of the "Titanic". No one could believe that the great ship was sunk by a little sliver." Faults in the ship's hull may have been a