Thursday, October 9, 2025
  • Who’sWho Africa AWARDS
  • About TimeAfrica Magazine
  • Contact Us
Time Africa Magazine
  • Home
  • Magazine
  • WHO’SWHO AWARDS
  • News
  • World News
    • US
    • UAE
    • Europe
    • UK
    • Israel-Hamas
    • Russia-Ukraine
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Column
  • Interviews
  • Special Report
No Result
View All Result
Time Africa Magazine
  • Home
  • Magazine
  • WHO’SWHO AWARDS
  • News
  • World News
    • US
    • UAE
    • Europe
    • UK
    • Israel-Hamas
    • Russia-Ukraine
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Column
  • Interviews
  • Special Report
No Result
View All Result
Time Africa Magazine
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • WHO’SWHO AWARDS
  • News
  • Magazine
  • World News

Home » World News » Super-wealthy Americans to embark on expedition back to Titanic wrecks, despite Titan OceanGate disaster

Super-wealthy Americans to embark on expedition back to Titanic wrecks, despite Titan OceanGate disaster

May 28, 2024
in World News
0
543
SHARES
4.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

America’s super-wealthy are still risking their lives on deep sea adventures even after the catastrophic implosion of OceanGate’s Titan last year that killed all on board.

Titan last year that killed all on board.

OceanGate’s Titan submersible disappeared on June 18, 2023, after it plunged into the sea to explore the wreck of the Titanic – killing all five people on board, including the company’s CEO, Stockton Rush. The cost of the expedition was $250,000.

The company was slammed for flouting warnings of the risks and offering cut-price tickets to some of those on the trip. But despite the catastrophic implosion, rich thrill-seekers are still spending thousands on similar expeditions.

One of the companies still operating deep sea dives, including an expedition back to the Titanic wreck, is Triton. Its operators insist their submersible is safer than Titan, which was criticized for having no official safety certification.

ReadAlso

‘We’re constantly looking at the water’ says Emotional wife and mother of Titanic sub disaster victims

As Titanic sub fuels grief, search for answers continues

They refused to share the per-person cost for a seat on their sub, or when they plan to plunge to the depths of the Atlantic to reach the Titanic wreck.

Triton’s subs have been used in the past for the ‘world’s deepest dive’ to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in July 2023 with British biologist Sir David Attenborough. This year, Triton subs were used for expeditions to the Mariana Trench, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Arctic Ocean.

ADVERTISEMENT

Influential individuals have recognized how the tragic implosion could impact the investment in deep ocean research, said Sophie Bentham-Wood, Executive Director of Global Marketing and Sales Strategies for the leading submarine company Triton.

“Some have already approached us to discuss the build of deep-diving submersibles purely to counteract any negative impact those events could have had and maintain momentum in the ocean space,” Bentham-Wood said.

Ohio real-estate investor and businessman, Larry Connor, is one of them. He is planning to be on the first sub to dive back to the titanic wreckage since the Titan imploded last June. .

The sub diver is determined to prove submersing down 12,500 feet to the 112-year-old titanic wreckage is perfectly safe – and he has the money to do so.

Connor is set on taking a two-person submersible down to titanic wreck depths 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,’ he told the Wall Street Journal.

He is planning the dive with Patrick Lahey, President and co-founder of Triton Submarines, one of the leading submersible companies in the world. The two have worked together previously diving to some of the ocean’s deepest depths.

Triton clients have already made various dives this year, from exploring the Mariana Trench, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Arctic Ocean.

Despite OceanGate’s catastrophic implosion last June, the pair aims to prove to the world that such an expedition can be carried out safely.

Connor, who has previously explored the Mariana Trench, the deepest oceanic trench on Earth, said they plan to undertake the journey in a two-person vessel called the Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer, named ‘4000’ for the depth in meters it can reach. It’s unclear when the trip will take place or how much it will cost.

Connor, who has previously explored the Mariana Trench, the deepest oceanic trench on Earth, said they plan to undertake the journey in a two-person vessel called the Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer, named ‘4000’ for the depth in meters it can reach. It’s unclear when the trip will take place or how much it will cost.

Lahey was among many industry figures who criticized OceanGate before and after the disaster, accusing it of questionable safety standards.

After the implosion, he described Rush’s recruitment tactics use to convincing people to get on board as ‘quite predatory’ and emphasized that certified submersibles are generally safe.

Lahey emphasized that this tragedy wasn’t reflecting of the industry as a whole.

“In that sense, OceanGate didn’t make the industry look bad,” McCallum told the WSJ. ‘It made us look good.”

Lahey said that after the implosion, Connor called him saying, “You know, what we need to do is build a sub that can dive to [Titanic-level depths] repeatedly and safely and demonstrate to the world that you guys can do that, and that Titan was a contraption.”

With respect to the lives lost last June, Bentham-Wood said the ‘continued exploration of the deep ocean in manned submersibles is essential to understanding the ocean environment, which is a key component of our future on this planet.”

“If there is any positive to draw from the situation, the legacy will be that there is further investment being made in deep ocean submersibles,” she said.

“Plus everyone realizes the deep ocean is no place for compromise – therefore, the need for programs to solely employ submersibles with full classification certification in their operations is not an option, but a prerequisite.”

Historically, submersibles have successfully dived deeper than the Titanic for decades. When the wreck of the Titanic was first first discovered in 1985, submersibles had already been diving to greater depths for several decades.

The first to do so was the FNRS-3 bathyscaphe in 1954, setting a record by reaching 4,050 meters. In 1960, the Trieste descended 10,916 meters in the Mariana Trench. Since then, at least 16 submersibles have repeatedly taken people deeper than the Titanic over the past 69 years.

The US submersible Alvin made the first dives to investigate the Titanic in July 1986, followed by the French submersible Nautile in 1987, which returned in 1993 and dived to the wreck 47 times in total.

Today, ten submersibles in service can reach Titanic depths and beyond. According to the Marine Technology Society’s submarine group, OceanGate was the only company operating a submersible capable of reaching Titanic-wreck depths that was not certified, raising industry concerns.

“There are only 10 submarines in the world that can go 4,000m or deeper and all of them are certified except the OceanGate,” Will Kohnen, chair of the Marine Technology Society’s submarine group told CBC News in June 2023.

OceanGate was conducting deep-ocean expeditions since 2009, with over 200 successful dives using its three submersibles in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico. The Titan was designed to reach deeper depths of over 13,000 feet, according to the company.

Before Titan, the only major sub disaster included the USS Thresher’s 1963 implosion, killing 129 crew members. But after the implosion, many in the industry called for extra caution around any future trips to the titanic wreckage. Other have called for greater oversight of the submersible industry as a whole.

Last year, titanic expert Tim Maltin said trips to the wreckage should be paused until more is discovered about what occurred to the Titan sub.

“We need to make sure that any vessels that go down there carrying fee-paying passengers…[are] certified to greater depths than they will be put through,” said Maltin.

Caroline Heaven, a member of the British Titanic Society, said the dangers outweigh any benefits.

“I see no point in even considering the perilous journey to the wreck,” she told the BBC. ‘The dangers involved are too great, the conditions are too cramped, and visibility is limited when the wreck is reached.

“Out of the entire population of submersibles, 90 to 95 per cent are certified. There’s a five to 10 per cent fringe, so in that aspect they are an outlier, but sure, in the deep submersibles they really stand out.

“Our apprehension is that the current ‘experimental’ approach adopted by OceanGate could result in negative outcomes (from minor to catastrophic) that would have serious consequences for everyone in the industry,” he said.

On June 18, the OceanGate’s Titan was launched around 8am in the Atlantic Ocean above the site of the Titanic shipwreck.

The five passengers, tourists Hamish Harding , 58, Shahzada Dawood , 48, and his son Sulaiman Dawood, 19, French Navy pilot Paul-Henry (PH) Nargeolet and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, started to descend as Rush piloted the vessel.

At 9:45am, the ship lost contact with its mothership, the Polar Prince, during a descent to the wreck of the Titanic 12,500 feet beneath the surface.

Days later, its debris was recovered. It was said to have suffered a ‘catastrophic implosion’. All on board died on the submersible.

The US Coast Guard confirmed the victims’ deaths four days later and an investigation into the implosion is ongoing .Because OceanGate’s titan completely imploded, researchers will likely never determine the exact location of the flaw that caused the tragic event

• Source: Dailymail

Tags: David AttenboroughExpeditionsOceanGate
ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

United Airlines Plane Engine Catches Fire Moments Before Takeoff

Next Post

Wike: When A Boozing Bozo Becomes A Bare Bully 

You MayAlso Like

UK

Woman appointed Archbishop of Canterbury 

October 3, 2025
King Charles and Prince Harry did not meet during the Duke's recent visit to the UK. (Image: Getty)
UK

Prince Harry issues strongly-worded statement over King Charles meeting

September 28, 2025
President Donald Trump attends a meeting with leaders of Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, during the United Nations General Assembly in New York. | Evan Vucci/AP
Middle-East

Trump ‘promised Arab leaders he would not let Israel annex the West Bank’

September 25, 2025
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy leaves the courtroom on Thursday after the verdict in his trial for illegal campaign financing from Libya.Alain Jocard / AFP - Getty Images
World News

French ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy sentenced to five years in prison in Libyan campaign-financing trial

September 25, 2025
4.Young leaders trained by We Can program designed and delivered 17 projects across schools and communities
World News

Award-winning Chill Lab youth mental health program impacted 146,000+ lives in two years with latest “We Can” student-led projects benefiting 17,000+ people

September 22, 2025
Two teenagers were sentenced to 12 years of hard labour in the gulag for watching banned South Korean TVCredit: BBC
World News

North Korea executing more people for watching foreign movies

September 14, 2025
Next Post

Wike: When A Boozing Bozo Becomes A Bare Bully 

Tinubu’s First Year of Voodoo Leadership

Discussion about this post

Kingdom in Crisis: Ogwashi-Uku Rejects Obi’s Land Grab, Villages Ready to Declare Autonomy

Faked or Factual: UNN Contradictory Claims on Minister Uche Nnaji Certificate Raise Questions of Credibility

Woman appointed Archbishop of Canterbury 

A Minister of Lies?: Uche Nnaji’s Certificate Scandal and the Collapse of Credibility in Nigerian Governance

Certificate Scandal: University of Nigeria Declares Minister Uche Nnaji Never Graduated

Uche Nnaji Finally Breaks Silence on Certificate Forgery

  • British government apologizes to Peter Obi, as hired impostors, master manipulators on rampage abroad

    1242 shares
    Share 497 Tweet 311
  • Maids trafficked and sold to wealthy Saudis on black market

    1067 shares
    Share 427 Tweet 267
  • Flight Attendant Sees Late Husband On Plane

    974 shares
    Share 390 Tweet 244
  • ‘Céline Dion Dead 2023’: Singer killed By Internet Death Hoax

    905 shares
    Share 362 Tweet 226
  • Crisis echoes, fears grow in Amechi Awkunanaw in Enugu State

    735 shares
    Share 294 Tweet 184
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest

British government apologizes to Peter Obi, as hired impostors, master manipulators on rampage abroad

April 13, 2023

Maids trafficked and sold to wealthy Saudis on black market

December 27, 2022
Flight Attendant Sees Late Husband On Plane

Flight Attendant Sees Late Husband On Plane

September 22, 2023
‘Céline Dion Dead 2023’: Singer killed By Internet Death Hoax

‘Céline Dion Dead 2023’: Singer killed By Internet Death Hoax

March 21, 2023
Chief Mrs Ebelechukwu, wife of Willie Obiano, former governor of Anambra state

NIGERIA: No, wife of Biafran warlord, Bianca Ojukwu lied – Ebele Obiano:

0

SOUTH AFRICA: TO LEAVE OR NOT TO LEAVE?

0
kelechi iheanacho

TOP SCORER: IHEANACHA

0
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

WHAT CAN’TBE TAKEN AWAY FROM JONATHAN

0

National Council of State Unanimously Approves Appointment of Professor Amupitan as INEC Chairman

October 9, 2025

Central African Republic become 46th member of AFC

October 8, 2025

Next Steps for African Energy: APPO Must Choose a Visionary Leader to Secure Its Future

October 8, 2025
Prince Harry watching an anti-poaching exercise in Malawi in 2019 during a royal tour of Africa to visit his charities (Getty)

Chad Cuts Ties with Charity Linked to Prince Harry

October 8, 2025

ABOUT US

Time Africa Magazine

TIMEAFRICA MAGAZINE is an African Magazine with a culture of excellence; a magazine without peer. Nearly a third of its readers hold advanced degrees and include novelists, … READ MORE >>

SECTIONS

  • Aviation
  • Column
  • Crime
  • Europe
  • Featured
  • Gallery
  • Health
  • Interviews
  • Israel-Hamas
  • Lifestyle
  • Magazine
  • Middle-East
  • News
  • Politics
  • Press Release
  • Russia-Ukraine
  • Science
  • Special Report
  • Sports
  • TV/Radio
  • UAE
  • UK
  • US
  • World News

Useful Links

  • AllAfrica
  • Channel Africa
  • El Khabar
  • The Guardian
  • Cairo Live
  • Le Republicain
  • Magazine: 9771144975608
  • Subscribe to TIMEAFRICA MAGAZINE biweekly news magazine

    Enjoy handpicked stories from around African continent,
    delivered anywhere in the world

    Subscribe

    • About TimeAfrica Magazine
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • WHO’SWHO AWARDS

    © 2025 TimeAfrica Magazine - All Right Reserved. TimeAfrica Magazine Ltd is published by Times Associates, registered Nigeria. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service.

    No Result
    View All Result
    • WHO’SWHO AWARDS
    • Politics
    • Column
    • Interviews
    • Gallery
    • Lifestyle
    • Special Report
    • Sports
    • TV/Radio
    • Aviation
    • Health
    • Science
    • World News

    © 2025 TimeAfrica Magazine - All Right Reserved. TimeAfrica Magazine Ltd is published by Times Associates, registered Nigeria. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service.

    This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.