America’s super-wealthy continue to embark on deep-sea adventures despite the catastrophic implosion of OceanGate’s Titan submersible last year, which claimed the lives of all five people on board, including the company’s CEO, Stockton Rush. The ill-fated expedition, intended to explore the Titanic wreck, cost each participant $250,000. OceanGate faced severe criticism for ignoring safety warnings and offering discounted tickets to some passengers.
Despite this tragedy, affluent thrill-seekers still spend substantial sums on similar underwater expeditions. One such company, Triton, operates deep-sea dives, including trips to the Titanic wreck. Triton asserts that its submersibles are safer than Titan, which lacked official safety certification. They have refused to disclose the cost per seat or the schedule for their next Titanic expedition to DailyMail.com.
Triton’s submersibles have a track record of significant achievements, including the “world’s deepest dive” to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in July 2023 with British biologist Sir David Attenborough. This year, Triton’s subs were also used for expeditions to the Mariana Trench, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Arctic Ocean.
Sophie Bentham-Wood, Triton’s Executive Director of Global Marketing and Sales Strategies, noted that influential individuals recognize the impact of the Titan disaster on deep ocean research investments. She mentioned that some have approached Triton to build deep-diving submersibles to maintain momentum in ocean exploration.
One notable adventurer is Ohio real-estate investor Larry Connor, who plans to be among the first to dive back to the Titanic wreck since the Titan’s implosion. Connor, who has previously explored the Mariana Trench, is determined to demonstrate the safety and wonders of deep-sea exploration. He plans to undertake this journey in the Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer, a two-person vessel capable of reaching depths of 4,000 meters. The exact timing and cost of the trip remain undisclosed.
Connor will be accompanied by Patrick Lahey, President and co-founder of Triton Submarines. The pair has a history of collaborating on deep-sea dives and aims to prove that such expeditions can be conducted safely. Triton clients have already made numerous dives this year, exploring the Mariana Trench, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Arctic Ocean.
Lahey has been a vocal critic of OceanGate’s safety standards, both before and after the Titan disaster. He emphasized that certified submersibles are generally safe and that OceanGate’s failure should not tarnish the reputation of the entire industry. Following the Titan incident, Connor reached out to Lahey to discuss building a submersible that could repeatedly and safely dive to Titanic depths, showcasing the reliability of properly certified vessels.
Bentham-Wood stressed the importance of continued deep-sea exploration for understanding the ocean environment, a key component of our planet’s future. She believes the legacy of the Titan disaster will be increased investment in certified deep-sea submersibles, ensuring that such explorations are carried out safely.
Historically, submersibles have successfully dived deeper than the Titanic for decades. The first submersible to reach greater depths was the FNRS-3 bathyscaphe in 1954. Since then, numerous submersibles have achieved similar feats, with at least 16 capable of diving deeper than the Titanic over the past 69 years. Today, ten certified submersibles can reach Titanic depths, emphasizing that OceanGate’s uncertified operations were an anomaly in an otherwise safety-conscious industry.