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...s to approve a treaty signed by the State Department in June aimed at protecting the wreck of the Titanic. He hopes France and Russia -- from where many tour operators to the Titanic operate -- will sign the treaty. Britain signed the accord in November 2003. In his 2004 expedition to the Titanic, Ballard used a remote operated vehicle to take thousands of digital images of the ship and compared them against pictures taken in 1985. Most notable was a deterioration of the promenade deck where submersibles had bumped or landed on the ship. In 2001, an American couple got married in a submersible on the deck. Pictures showing these changes are in Ballard's glossy new book "Return to Titanic" published by National Geographic (news - web sites), where Ballard is an Explorer-In-Residence. In addition, the mast has been stripped of its bell and its brass light is missing. There was a recent gash on the bow section where the name Titanic used to be and part of the brass telemotor which once held the ship's wooden wheel is twisted. ITEMS REMOVED There was less biological decay than Ballard expected although much of the ship was covered in icicles of rust. About 6,000 artifacts have been removed from the Titanic and its debris field since Ballard found the ship 13,000 feet below the surface of the North Atlantic. There are two schools of thought on the Titanic -- one that it should be salvaged and the other, like Ballard, that it should be preserved as a mark of respect for the 1,523 people who are buried in the deep sea grave. "The greatest museum on earth is beneath the sea and we have the technology to go there. The question is, are we going there to appreciate this history or plunder it?" said Ballard. He understands the fascination people have in wanting to ...