After performing a series of successful dives to the wreck of the Titanic in the North Atlantic this summer, OceanGate’s flagship submersible will return to its home turf in Everett, Wash.
OceanGate Expeditions officially announced that the Titanic Surveying Expedition of 2022 will run from next May to June, with New opportunities for missionary professionals to join the adventure. (Because OceanGate customers contribute to activities at sea, the company doesn’t call them “tourists,” even though it is paying OceanGate a $250,000 fee.)
The five-man submersible Titan dives into the Titanic, more than two miles above sea level, for the purpose of documenting the condition of the wreck every year. This summer diving confirms earlier findings that the world’s most famous shipwreck is rapidly deteriorating – 109 years after the luxury aircraft carrier hit an iceberg and sank, killing more than 1,500 people.
“Mission experts helped our crew collect and review terabytes of the highest-resolution still images and video of the Titanic and the debris field ever collected,” said OceanGate Expeditions President , Stockton Rush, said today in a press release.
Rush said continued support from mission specialists, partners and Titanic experts will ensure “that this important maritime heritage site is recorded for generations to come”.
Veteran diving pilot PH Nargolet, who joined OceanGate’s 2021 expedition, said seeing the wreck in person was “very different” than seeing it with a remote-controlled camera.
“Over the past 30 years, I have completed more than 30 dives on the Titanic,” he said. “The bow is the most interesting part of the Titanic to see. Year after year, I degraded a lot. It doesn’t go faster, but you can see more of what’s inside the ship as the wreck decomposes. In addition, the mast has fallen to the floor of the well.”
OceanGate’s submersible received positive reviews from mission expert Doug Jackson. “The sub is more comfortable than I expected,” he said. “We were in the sub for 11 hours. It doesn’t feel anywhere near that long. There are many places. “
And then there’s the view outside the Titan submersible’s two-foot-wide window.
“The sheer magnitude of the devastation was astounding,” Jackson said. “The steel is three inches thick, and it’s just twisted like a toy.”
After weeks of sea and land travel, Titan will return to OceanGate’s headquarters in Port Everett on Friday. Submersibles will be displayed on December 4 in Port Everett’s “Holiday on the Bay” festival.
