OBSESSION THAT STILL RUNS DEEP

New book and hotel tap into Titanic fever

- BY SUE LEE

SHE may have slipped beneath the icy waters of the north Atlantic almost 114 years ago, but the story of the Titanic refuses to sink.

The building which housed her former home in Liverpool has recently reopened as a hotel, offering Titanic tours.

There's even a book in the offing about the Belfast-built liner's engineers - the "unsung heroes" of the tragedy - written by a descendant of Bruce Ismay, the so-called "coward" of the Titanic.

None of this comes as a surprise to 66-year-old Dik Barton, who has dived the wreck 22 times.

He is in more demand than ever to give talks internationally about his experiences of the "unsinkable" liner, which struck an iceberg on April 15 1912 and took around 1,500 passengers and crew to a watery grave.

Dik, former director of operations for RMS Titanic Inc, the group authorised to recover and conserve artefacts from the wreckage, says: "Interest in her will always be with us, it's the most bizarre thing.

"The only way I can explain it is there is something in the story for everyone, whether you're six or 96.