'Titanic' Artifact Recovery Mission Canceled After Death of 'Titan' Passengers

French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet was due to lead the planned 2024 mission but he died onboard the 'Titan' submersible in June

A mission to the wreckage of the Titanic has been canceled after the implosion of the Titan sub earlier this year.

The Titan submersible imploded in June, killing all five passengers on board, and this week it was revealed that RMS Titanic Inc. — a company that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic shipwreck — has cancelled an artifact recovery mission that was scheduled to take place in 2024.

The Associated Press reported that documents filed in court on Wednesday detailed that the firm had decided that the mission would "not be appropriate."

"Out of respect for [Paul-Henri] Nargeolet [who was the director of underwater research for RMS Titanic, Inc. and due to lead the mission] and his family, and the other four people who perished so recently at the site, and their families, the company has decided that artifact recovery would not be appropriate at this time," the firm said, according to documents filed.

The company has been in a legal battle with the U.S. government over the plans to visit the famous wreckage site in 2024, though per the AP, the government challenge was not related to the June deaths, and instead federal law and an international agreement that is said to place the wreckage as a hallowed gravesite that should not be disturbed.

In the Wednesday court filing, RMS Titanic, Inc. said, per the AP, that they only plan to take imaging at the wreck site and conduct surveys to refine “future artifact recovery."

They added that "U.S. attorneys have said the firm’s original plans to enter the ship’s hull would violate a federal law that treats the wreck as a gravesite."

Related: 5 'Titan' Sub Passengers Are Dead, OceanGate Says: They 'Have Sadly Been Lost'

After the company scaled back its plans, a hearing to discuss the mission that had been scheduled to take place in Virgina on Friday was canceled, U.K newspaper The Independent reported on Thursday.

Nargeolet, 77, was known as “Mr. Titanic” and had been on over 35 dives to the wreckage. According to Insider, he worked with RMS Titanic, Inc. for over two decades and helped collect over 5,000 artifacts from the vessel which sank in the North Atlantic in April 1912.

Related: Get an Inside Look at OceanGate's 'Titan' Submersible: Photos and Details

RMS Titanic, Inc shared a statement after Nargeolet's death where they said that they were "deeply mourning" and had held a memorial ceremony for the late director of underwater research at the company.

In July, RMS Titanic, Inc announced that an exhibition of items recovered from Titanic would be going on tour, and shared in a post on Instagram that "many of the artifacts on display were recovered by or recovered under the supervision of Paul-Henri Nargeolet and his dedicated team."

"An intrepid explorer with an indomitable pioneering spirit, PH fearlessly ventured into the depths of the ocean to unravel its mysteries and educate the public. In his own words: 'Everyone has a right to dream about TITANIC, to see the wreck if they want, and to see artifacts. It should not be the privilege of a small group of people,' " the announcement continued.

Renowned explorer Victor Vescovo called Nargeolet a "charming soul" when speaking to PEOPLE after his death.

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"He was an extremely accomplished diver and submersible operator. He did many, many dangerous things, including removing unexploded ordinance from the sea floor left from World War II, but he handled these missions with such a French 'Je ne sais quois [I don't know what],' type of attitude," the explorer added.

"He was the kind of Frenchman that you see in the movies, where risk was just something you accepted with a glass of nice Bordeaux.”

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