>>Ballard, however, does seem to be a prisoner of his own fame. He seems to enjoy this love/hate relationship with the Titanic. He seems to hate being chained forever to the wreck, but sure didn't mind capitalizing off of it through books and lectures.<<
There may or may not be something to all of that, but this is niether here nor there. The base premise you appear to be argueing is that his morality is questionable, therefor, he's wrong. If that's your premise, then whether or not you're right about the first, I don't know. However, it's a base non-sequiter to suppose that questionable ethics renders somebody's stated beliefs or opinions wrong. I'm content to let the blokes who stand for public office play that game.
Mind you, I'm not saying that I agree with Dr. Ballard on everything he says. However, if he's right about something, then he's right.