Artifacts recovered from Britannic, Titanic’s forgotten sister ship, after a century underwater

A team of Greek archaeologists has recovered a trove of artifacts from HMHS Britannic, the Titanic’s forgotten sister ship, more than 100 years after it sank in the Aegean Sea.

The operation was led by Greece’s Culture Ministry and involved an 11-member deep-sea diving team that completed a weeklong expedition in May, using closed-circuit diving gear to extend their underwater work amid strong currents and low visibility.

Recovered items include the ship’s bell, its port-side navigation light and silver-plated first-class serving trays, along with ceramic tiles from the ship’s ornate Turkish bath, a pair of passenger binoculars and a porcelain sink from second-class cabins. These relics illuminate Britannic’s dual life as a luxury liner and a wartime hospital ship. Among the broader context of the find, the project underscores the ship’s dramatic end: Britannic, once the largest hospital ship afloat, sank in less than an hour after striking a German mine. More than 1,060 people were aboard, and 30 were killed as lifeboats were drawn into the vessel’s rapidly turning propellers as the ship went down.

Built by the same company behind the Titanic, Britannic was designed as a luxury cruise liner but was requisitioned as a hospital ship during World War I. The vessel struck a German naval mine on November 12, 1916, and sank near Kea Island in the Aegean Sea. The ship, which had sailed from Liverpool for Mudros, Greece, rolled to its starboard side and disappeared into the sea in about 55 minutes. The wreck lies roughly 390 feet below the surface, largely intact except for a massive breach in its bow.

The recovered objects were placed in secure containers, cleaned of marine growth, and transported to the European University Association laboratories in Athens, where conservation work will continue. Some objects on the original recovery plan could not be recovered due to their condition or location. The artifacts are slated to join the permanent collection at the forthcoming Museum of Underwater Antiquities in the port of Piraeus, which will include a World War I section highlighted by the Britannic finds.

Britannic measured 882 feet nine inches long and 94 feet wide, with a gross tonnage of 48,158, making it Britain’s largest ship at the time. Its maiden voyage began on December 23, 1915, from Liverpool to Mudros, with its wartime service cut short by the mine near Kea Island. The wreck was first located in 1975 by French ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, who found Britannic lying on its starboard side with a large hole in the bow.

The ongoing conservation effort aims to preserve the ship’s material record—metalwork, porcelain, glass, and ceramic elements—so future visitors can understand the Britannic’s dual roles and the perilous realities of sea warfare in the early 20th century. The discovery adds to the broader historical narrative of the White Star Line’s ships and the evolution of underwater archaeology practices that have emerged in recent decades.