OceanGate Expeditions to set out for Titanic wreck 110 years after sinking

OceanGate Expeditions has planned an expedition to the wreck of the legendary liner RMS Titanic for the summer of 2022, the 110th anniversary of the sinking.

A team of researchers and explorers from OceanGate Expeditions will visit the wreck of the Titanic aboard the Titan vessel. This is a specialist underwater vehicle and the only one in the world that can take as many as five people on board. Remember, the remains of the liner are at the bottom of the Atlantic, at a depth of 3,800m, so it’s quite a journey.

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An interdisciplinary team of researchers will be on board to carry out a number of immersions. They will include archaeologists, biologists and historians specialising in Titanic. The aim of the mission is to explore the wreck and create advanced documentation of the wreck. According to announcements, this is to be the most detailed Titanic dossierthat has been carried out to date.

Titan

The capabilities offered by the Titan underwater vehicle‘s equipment are not insignificant. Because the vessel is, among others, equipped with state-of-the-art cameras for taking ultra-high resolution photographs. After careful analysis, they will help to determine the rate of decomposition of the wreck and better understand the marine organisms that colonised the Titanic.

During the Titanic Expedition in 2021, specialists helped our crew collect and review terabytes of the highest resolution photos and videos. This year’s expedition will be the second year of the digital preservation and collection initiative and the first ever crewed mission. The continued support of our partners and experts ensures that this important maritime heritage site will be documented for future generations – said Stockton Rush, President of OceanGate Expeditions.

2022 Expedition

The upcoming expedition to the wreck of the Titanic will continue throughout the summer. According to information provided by the organiser of the venture, more than half of the specialist positions have already been filled. Team building has also begun for the next expedition, which is scheduled for 2023. OceanGate Expeditions is open to participation from experts who are qualified and would like to contribute.

I have done over 30 immersions on the Titanic in the last 30 years. The bow is the most exciting part to see. Unfortunately, year by year I see how much it is deteriorating. As the wreck decays you can see more and more of the interior of the ship. Being able to see the wreck with your own eyes is a very different experience to seeing it through an ROV camera. It has to be seen to be understood – explains P.H. Nargeolet.

The veteran expeditioner to the Titanic wreck also explained that inside the Titan submersible vehicle there is plenty of space. It can be crewed by up to five people, who can view everything around them through a large viewing port. In his opinion, the whole thing is very well made, simple and easy to pilot and has a ton of innovative features.

Therefore, we can only look forward to the summer and autumn, when the first information about the expedition will be available. Let us hope, therefore, that the researchers are lucky and achieve their goals. The more information that can be salvaged about the Titanic, the more we can learn about the history of an ocean liner that has influenced pop culture like no other.