Titanic Revisited

27 Sep 2021
11:45-12:30
HOTEL ADRIATIC - LECTURE ROOM

Titanic Revisited

In July and August of 2021, Washington-based company OceanGate Expeditions made multiple dives to the wreck of RMS Titanic in the North Atlantic with its prototype Titan 5-person submersible. The expedition was the culmination of six years of planning and technological development of the light-weight five-person sub. Titan has a revolutionary carbon fiber and titanium hull and portable deployment system that enables it to dive up to 4000m anywhere in the world without the need for a dedicated support vessel, dramatically cutting the cost and logistical challenges of manned deep sea exploration. By completing a season of successful scientific dives and archaeological exploration of the Titanic, the “Mount Everest” of deep sea shipwrecks, OceanGate has achieved proof-of-concept for a vehicle and business model that will further open up civilian access to the deep oceans. This lecture reports on the 2021 mission from a marine researcher’s perspective and offers thoughts on how ocean scientists and technologists can respond to the new opportunities created by this transformative model of manned deep ocean exploration.

Breaking the Surface