Billionaire real estate investor Larry Connor, who has visited the Mariana Trench, wants to prove to the world that a trip to the Titanic wreckage, which is located around 12,500 feet deep in the Atlantic ocean, is perfectly safe after five people tragically died last year attempting to do so via the Titan submersible.
“I want to show people worldwide that while the ocean is extremely powerful, it can be wonderful and enjoyable and really kind of life-changing if you go about it the right way,” said Connor in a new interview with the Wall Street Journal.
Connor and Triton Submarines CEO Patrick Lahey, who designed and built the now-destroyed Titan submersible, is planning to travel together to the Titanic wreckage in a two-person vessel called the Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer, which is worth $20 million.
“Patrick has been thinking about and designing this for over a decade. But we didn’t have the materials and technology,” said Connor in the interview. “You couldn’t have built this sub five years ago.”
The vessel can dive at 4,000 meters max, the Titanic wreckage is about 3,810 meters deep in the ocean.
Lahey, who also spoke to the Journal in an interview, claimed that Connor called him and said that they both need to “build a sub that can dive to [Titanic-level depths] repeatedly and safely.” He also said that Connor told him that he wants to “demonstrate to the world” that the “Titan was a contraption.”
The Titanic sank in 1912 after it struck an iceberg in the Atlantic ocean, the ship had over 2,200 people on board at the time. More than 1,500 people died as a result of the disaster, and the ship’s remains in the deep sea have attracted roughly 250 people to visit the wreckage in-person since 1985.
RMS Titanic being fitted out at Harland and Wolf Shipyard, Belfast, 1911-1912. (Photo by: Pictures from History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Pictures from History/Getty Images
Last year on June 18, OceanGate’s Titan submersible, which was carrying five people, went missing for four days after diving in the Atlantic ocean off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, to explore the Titanic wreckage. The submersible lost communications roughly 1 hour and 45 minutes after diving in the ocean. Debris of the submersible was later found by a remotely operated underwater vehicle.
It is believed that the pressure hull in the submersible imploded while it was descending into the ocean, instantly killing OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, deep-sea diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, businessperson Hamish Harding, Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman, who were the five passengers who were on board the Titan.
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“This tragedy had a chilling effect on people’s interest in these vehicles,” said Lahey while speaking to the Journal. “It reignited old myths that only a crazy person would dive in one of these things.”
OceanGate’s Titan submersible.
Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
After the incident, OceanGate received scrutiny for its safety practices as the design of the Titan submersible was put under a microscope. The vehicle was operated by a video game controller and wall-mounted lamps are the only source of light on the sub. The crew inside the vehicle were also sealed in by a closed hatch from the outside that was sealed shut with 17 bolts.
The vessel wasn’t even approved or certified by any regulatory authority, and travelers of the sub had to sign a waiver accepting that as a result of this, “physical injury, disability, emotional trauma or death” was a possibility.
The Titan submersible loss is currently being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board which aims to “gather information, analyze the facts, determine a probable cause and issue any necessary safety recommendations.” A report on the investigation is expected to be released 12 to 24 months after it was announced on June 30, 2023.
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