“I’ve seen zero human remains,” James Cameron, the moviemaker and explorer, who has visited the wreck 33 times and extensively probed its interior, said in an interview.

“We’ve seen clothing,” he added. “We’ve seen shoes. We’ve seen pairs of shoes, which would strongly suggest there was a body there at one point. But we’ve never seen any human remains.”…

Other Titanic experts — including Robert D. Ballard, a discoverer of the wreck who has long advocated its protection — echo federal officials and call it possible and perhaps likely that human remains lie intact in unexplored compartments.

“I would not be surprised if highly preserved bodies were found in the engine room,” he said. “That was deep inside the ship.”

Asked how many bodies the broken hull of the Titanic might hold, Dr. Ballard replied: “Dozens. Hundreds starts to feel uncomfortable. I know that lots landed on the bottom, because there are so many shoes.”