RICHMOND, VA. ? A federal appeals court Friday refused to let an Atlanta salvage company sell artifacts recovered from the wreck of the Titanic.

In a 3-0 ruling, a panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a decision by a lower-court judge and said that R.M.S. Titanic Inc. does not have title to the objects taken from the bottom of the sea.

The company used a submersible to recover about 6,000 items since the wreck was discovered in 1985, from shards of glass and debris to part of the ship’s wheel, passengers’ belongings and the base of a statue from the grand staircase.

In 1994, after a long legal battle, U.S. District Judge J. Calvitt Clarke Jr. of Norfolk granted R.M.S. Titanic the exclusive rights to bring up items from the wreck. Later, however, the company, citing financial difficulty, wanted to begin selling some or all of the items.

But Clarke refused to allow it, saying he originally granted sole salvor status to R.M.S. Titanic because it promised it would make money only by displaying the artifacts at museums and traveling shows.

The company appealed. University of Virginia lawyer Neal Walters, appointed by the appeals court to argue the case, said the company was bound by its promise.

RMS Titanic attorney Mark Davis argued that the judge was never given an ironclad promise, only a nonbinding business plan that has changed.

He also said the judge’s ban on sale of Titanic artifacts was inconsistent with admiralty law, which governs rights to sunken ships. The appeals court rejected that argument.

The company, which continues to salvage Titanic artifacts, said the restrictions might force it into bankruptcy.

The ruling came three days before the 90th anniversary of the sinking of the luxury liner. The ship went down in the North Atlantic in 1912 on its maiden voyage after hitting an iceberg. More than 1,500 people died in the shipwreck.