The school said Tuesday that the term "expeditions" used in the memorandum of understanding was meant generally and did not specifically refer to missions aboard the Titan.

A company in China plans to build a replica of the Titanic that will allow hundreds of people at a time to experience a simulation of the 1912 ill-fated ocean liner.

It's a poignant scene familiar to anyone who has watched "Titanic" - as the doomed ship slides into the icy waters, musicians perform one last time for the passengers, playing with stoic resolve until the final hour.