tour of the titanic

THE EXPERIENCE

Step aboard the titanic.

Embark on an immersive, interactive tour of the Titanic with vast, jaw-dropping recreations of the ship’s interior and exterior. Visit the dock from where the Titanic first sailed, explore the galleries and boiler room, take a look inside a millionaire’s suite, stroll the exterior promenade deck under a starry night sky, and see the Grand Staircase with your own eyes.

STORIES OF LOVE AND LOSS TOLD THROUGH ARTIFACTS

Take on the name of a real passenger and discover their individual story as told through relics of the past. Hundreds of artifacts from the Titanic and her sister ships tell the latest details of the Titanic’s sinking and discovery: see recovered items, authentic White Star Line objects, and even props and costumes from James Cameron’s famous 1997 feature film.

DISCOVER THE TRUE STORY

Get a glimpse at how it felt to discover the sunken remains of the Titanic. Walk above a sea floor complete with sand and broken artifacts, see what discovery teams saw during their dives, and enjoy a unique VR experience providing a new perspective on the ship’s downfall.

Practical info

• Date: From February 16, 2024
• Duration: The visit will take around 1 hour
• Location: Westfield Old Orchard, Skokie
• Age requirement: All ages are welcome! Children under 4 enter free of charge
• Price: Adult tickets starting at $29.50

How visitors felt about Titanic: The Exhibition

Titanic: The Exhibition Gift Card

Give the gift of an emotional journey to the past, the exhibit in the media.

Titanic: The Exhibition Chicago Location

Westfield old orchard, 4963 old orchard shopping center, skokie, il, 60077, united states..

Do you have any questions? Maybe you can find the answer here!

Make the most of your visit to Titanic: The Exhibition by immersing yourself in the world of Downton Abbey! Conveniently located at the same venue, this ticket grants you access to the Downton Abbey exhibition on the same day during operating hours.

The exhibition is open weekly from Wednesday-Sunday with hours from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, with the last guest entry at 5:00 pm.

Downton Abbey: The Exhibition is self-guided, and we expect guests to spend 90-120 minutes exploring.

• On the Fever App, available on Google Play and Apple Store
• On the Fever website

MISCELLANEOUS

An Original Experience By

Media partner

In partnership with

Titanic Tours: What To Know About These Underwater Excursions

With today's advanced technology, it's easier than ever to discover new ways to explore shipwrecks, such as the Titanic, with tours like these.

It's safe to say that when an iceberg pierced the Titanic on its maiden voyage just over 100 years ago, no one was thinking about turning the shipwreck into a tourist attraction. But now, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the sinking, some travel companies are offering tours of the site. Visitors can take an expensive excursion or they can simply look on Google, where the wreck is pictured in all its rustic, 3-D glory.

It's a surreal sight ― especially if you know that when the Titanic went down in 1912 it claimed more than 1,500 lives. But is visiting the ship such a good idea? Absolutely, yes!

Package Tours On Titanic Shipwreck Underwater Excursions

There are now two companies offering underwater tours of the Titanic's wreckage. Bluefish and OceanGate, which has its headquarters in Everett Washington, both offer dives to the site that cost roughly $60,000- $105,129 per person, not including airfare or lodging. But what do you get for this price? Here's what to know about the tours:

Now that the wreckage is covered with silt again and no longer clear enough for photographs, some pictures taken on previous dives have been reproduced on tours' brochures. Up-close views of Titanic's exterior can also be seen in the James Cameron documentary Titanic.

Bluefish's brochures claim that "the wreck is eminently photographable providing an opportunity for multiple dive photography." OceanGate's website notes that there are at least a dozen friezes from the ship above water. Both tour companies are adamant about protecting the site and the body of water around it, possibly due to the controversy that arose last year when one company was using a ship to drop tourists onto the wreckage.

A Bluefish video demonstrates what it's like inside the sub by dropping a GoPro camera into an empty one as well as dead still sharks. It also shows some footage of Titanic itself before it was covered up with silt and debris.

Tourists will use OceanGate's custom-built submersibles made out of titanium, not unlike those used for space missions like Apollo 13. The sub is big enough for three passengers and has a window, touchscreen monitors for navigation, a pressure gauge, and all the equipment that tourists will need to live.

Both companies will take precautions like deploying a safety diver. They also plan to check guests' lungs for signs of pneumonia before each dive to ensure that they are healthy enough.

The Titanic sank in 1912 and many people died, but the wreck was never declared a cemetery or war gravesite, so knocking on it is prohibited. Both companies also request that tourists don't take chunks of the ship as souvenirs, which has happened before with other famous wrecks like the Lusitania.

RELATED:   This Is What The Menu On The Titanic Would Have Looked Like, Compared To Cruise Menus Today

5 Things To Take Note About the Titanic Wreck Site

Once you’ve decided on which company to go through to visit this sunken piece of history, the basic accommodations are all set! While the entire site itself is a historical wonder, there are a few things to note. Below are different things to be aware of before you take a dive.

What To Bring With You When Visiting The Underwater Wreckage

According to Blue Marble Private, divers should bring nothing larger than a handbag with them on the excursion. Their kit will include a snorkel plus mask, computer, and regulator, wetsuit, and boots.

What To Expect When Diving At The Site Of The Titanic Wreck

Divers will be able to explore the three most important parts of the wreckage, including its bow section, stern and engine room. Each area has plenty of marine life, so you might feel as though you're swimming through a fishbowl.

RELATED:   What Really Happened To The Titanic's Captain, And Did He Survive Like Some People Claimed?

What To Know When Diving At The Site Of The Titanic Wreck

Dive trips are run with a maximum of 12 divers at one time, and the company cautions that diving can be strenuous if you're not fit or healthy enough for it. This is why they recommend medical checks before each excursion.

What Not To Do When Visiting The Underwater Wreckage Of The Titanic

You must report any sightings of the wreck to the government agencies responsible for its protection, i.e., the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency (MCA) in Belfast. You should also respect all regulations that surround this precious archeological site.

?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=80f047b8-ab07-4f53-a551-4a16b3c8402e

What To Expect From The Marine Life At The Site Of The Titanic Wreck

Titanic wreck excursions are perfect for snorkelers and scuba divers alike , and visitors will be able to reap the benefits of both in one visit. There are plenty of fish to see if you're snorkeling, and you might even spot some whale sharks, too.

What To Know About The Safety Measures In Place For The Tour

According to the Titanic wreck tour operator's website, there are a number of safety measures in place to ensure that visitors have an enjoyable experience. These include two divers per dive, a support crew on the surface, and medical staff. Visitors should always bring a whistle with them, especially since it is an international sign of distress. A knife and glow stick will also be useful in an emergency.

Titanic wreck trips are a unique and exciting way to learn about the history of one of the most famous vessels to ever sail the seas, which is why they're so popular among Titanic enthusiasts as well as people who have never seen it before. They're also great for anyone who loves the water since it's a chance to explore something man-made while enjoying the natural beauty of an underwater ecosystem. The fact that you can set foot where no other human has for nearly 100 years only adds to the appeal, making this one of the most fascinating excursions you can take.

NEXT:   What The Titanic Looks Like Now Vs The Day It Sank

Here’s How You Can Visit the Wreck of the Titanic—for $125,000

A series of expeditions will take tourists down to the ill-fated ship in 2021

Courtesy of NOAA/Institute for Exploration/University of Rhode Island (NOAA/IFE/URI)

You’re probably familiar with the RMS Titanic: in 1912, the world’s largest ocean liner of the day embarked on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York, during which she struck an iceberg, sank, and ultimately took more than 1,500 lives. The Titanic’s final resting place remained a mystery until 1985, when American marine geologist Robert Ballard and French oceanographer Jean-Louis Michel discovered the wreck in the crushing depths of the frigid North Atlantic, nearly 2.5 miles beneath the surface of the sea. 

Rather unsurprisingly, visiting the Titanic has become a bucket-list trip for maritime historians, oceanographers, and, well, anyone who has deep enough pockets to go. However, expeditions are rare: only one team has visited the site in-person in the last 15 years. But all that’s about to change.

OceanGate Expeditions , a company that provides well-heeled clients with once-in-a-lifetime underwater experiences, has announced a series of six trips to the Titanic via submersible in 2021. Each has space for nine paying tourists, whose $125,000 tickets will help offset the cost of the expeditions (and put a pretty penny in the pocket of OceanGate owner Stockton Rush).

OceanGate’s expeditions will each run for 10 days out of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. Nine tourists, who are actually dubbed “mission specialists” on this expedition, will join the expedition crew on each sailing, and they’ll be expected to participate in the research efforts—this isn’t just a sightseeing affair. OceanGate’s goal is to extensively document the Titanic wreck before it disintegrates entirely due to a deep-sea bacteria that eats iron, which researchers are concerned might happen within the next few decades. As this is a scientific project, mission specialists will have to meet certain physical criteria to ensure their compatibility with the expedition, not to mention training, which includes a test dive.

On each expedition, each mission specialist will be able to partake in a single six- to eight-hour dive to the Titanic via the private Titan submarine, which includes the 90-minute descent and 90-minute ascent. The sub seats five—a pilot, a scientist or researcher, and three mission specialists—and it does have a small, semi-private bathroom for emergencies, in case you were wondering.

Now, it should be known that this isn’t OceanGate’s first attempt to visit the iconic wreck: two previous expeditions had to be scrubbed. (In 2018, the sub was hit by lightning, and its electrical systems were fried, and in 2019, there were issues with sourcing a ship for the expedition.) But hey, perhaps the third time's the charm!

Several international treaties protect the Titanic—the wreck sits in international waters—but their primary goal is to prevent looters and illegal salvage operations from damaging and disrespecting the wreck. However, in terms of tourism, it’s actually perfectly legal to visit the wreck, so long as the expedition doesn’t intrude upon it (i.e., land on the deck or enter the hull.)

“A review of the International Agreement on Titanic, as well as the 2001 UNESCO Convention on Underwater Cultural Heritage, would reveal that non-intrusive visits do not even require a permit or authorization,” said Ole Varmer, a retired legal advisor to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who was instrumental in negotiating the legal protection of the wreck. “The scope of the prohibition against commercial exploitation of underwater cultural heritage is to prevent unauthorized salvage and looting; it does not include non-intrusive visits regardless of whether they are for-profit or not.”

In terms of OceanGate Expeditions, the company is working with NOAA, the federal agency in charge of implementing the International Agreement on Titanic for U.S.-based Titanic activities, to ensure it follows all protocols set down by that agreement.

There are two major factors to consider regarding ethically visiting the Titanic. First, it’s a memorial site to the lives lost during the disaster, so the wreck should be treated with respect. But that, of course, is true of all memorial sites around the world.

“Speaking as one who visited Titanic’s wreck twice during RMS Titanic, Inc.'s 1993 and 1996 Research and Recovery expeditions, I see nothing unethical about visiting the wreck, nor about helping to defray the significant expense of bringing a visitor to the wreck,” explained Charles Haas, president of the Titanic International Society. “People around the world learn by seeing and visiting. They pay for access to museums, cathedrals, monuments, exhibitions, and, yes, final resting places.”

But second, it’s a fragile piece of cultural heritage. It should be protected—the expedition organizer must take appropriate steps to ensure that it won’t disturb the wreck.

“In the past, submersibles visiting the site by RMS Titanic, Inc. [the only company legally allowed to salvage the wreck], and others have rested on the deck of the hull portions,” says Varmer. “That practice has likely caused some harm and exacerbated the deterioration of the site.  Hopefully, that will no longer be practiced or permitted.”

Per OceanGate’s description of its expeditions, the company’s submersible won’t disturb the wreck, so if you have $125,000 lying around, fee; free to spring for the bucket-list trip of 2021!

The 11 Best Travel Money Belts of 2024

Zicasso Travel Agents Offer Custom Vacations for Adventurous Travelers

The 14 Best Backpack Brands of 2024

Best Tour Companies for Singles

The 6 Best Small Coolers of 2024, Tested and Reviewed

Complete Guide to the Great Barrier Reef

The 11 Best Travel Alarm Clocks of 2024

Where to Go in 2023: The Most Exciting Destinations to Explore This Year

Where to Go in 2021: 10 Future Trips You Can Start Planning Now

Top 10 Historical Sites in Canada

13 New Ocean Cruise Ships in 2018

The Best Mini Backpacks of 2024, Tested and Reviewed

These Artist Collaborations Are Redefining Travel Gear

The Best Alaska Cruises

The 9 Best Carry-on Luggage for Men of 2024, Tested and Reviewed

20 Solo Trips in 2020: I Traveled Solo During COVID-19

TITANIC 2024 Imaging and Research Expedition launching in July! Discover More

TITANIC: THE ARTIFACT EXHIBITION

Experience titanic in the heart of orlando.

TITANIC DINNER GALA

3 hours • ages 7+ • fri. & sat..

Join us on our one-of-a-kind Titanic Gala Dinner and be a participant in one of the most famous dinner parties aboard the Titanic as you enjoy a savory meal!

2 HOURS • ALL AGES • MONDAY-SUNDAY

Step back in time to April 1912 when you visit Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition in Orlando! See more than 300 artifacts, costumed actors, and full-scale room recreations!

GUIDED TOURS

Forever yours: stories of love on the titanic guided tour.

Let our collection of romantic authentic artifacts recovered from the Titanic inspire you this February with our exclusive Forever Yours tour.

The Ship of Dreams Guided Tour

Discover all things Titanic on the Ship of Dreams tour. From construction of Titanic to her many luxuries in accommodations and technological advances of that time. Hear incredible stories of passengers and crew on board the grandest ship in the world. Dive with us to the deep depths of the ocean and learn more about artifact recovery and conservation.

Titanic Adventure for Kids Guided Tour!

Explore Titanic through the eyes of young boys and girls with a fun filled scavenger hunt. Titanic’s Adventure map takes you through the exhibition room by room. This promises to be quite the adventure!

Recommended for children 8 and older and also, please have all children accompanied by an adult at all times.

ABOUT THE ARTIFACTS

Nearly 200 artifacts in Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition in Orlando have been recovered from the wreck site of Titanic by RMS Titanic, Inc.

RMS Titanic, Inc. is an affiliate of the company and has conducted eight research and recovery expeditions to Titanic. The recovered artifacts have been conserved and are continuously monitored and maintained so they can be displayed in the Exhibitions. In total, RMS Titanic, Inc. has recovered 5,500 artifacts from the wreck site.

Rediscover Titanic through hundreds of authentic artifacts!

Joining you on your journey are Captain Smith and the Titanic crew!

EXPERIENCE TITANIC!

The whole exhibit was very interesting and it was presented in a fantastic way. There was a lot of great information with each artifact. It is a lot of reading and the information helped to understand more about this historical event. Some of the areas are very impressive in the way they are set up. It was well worth it!

We attended the Titanic Experience dinner theater and it was excellent! The food was excellent and the show was entertaining and interactive. It was done in such a way that you got a sense of what the night was like. It was such a great experience!

It is very worth it! A fascinating museum!! Very beautiful and well mounted. The interaction throughout the tour with actors representing real passengers on the ship make a big difference with other museums. Mainly Molly, she is amazing! Thanks to her you will never forget this visit!

Everything was ready for us when we arrived, including our tour guide, "Miss Dorothy Gibson", who was outstanding! It was all so interesting, and she most definitely kept our attention with all her info as well as some fun trivia. The whole group had a great time. Well worth the time and money! Thank you, Miss Dorothy!

SIGN IN YOUR ACCOUNT TO HAVE ACCESS TO DIFFERENT FEATURES

Forgot your details.

• MY CART No products in cart.

FULL Version – Titanic: The Virtual Experience

$ 15.00

Start your virtual experience of TITANIC: The Artifact Exhibition now.

After the purchase, you will receive an e-mail with a link to the online exhibition (if you do not receive an e-mail, please check your spam folder). You can also access your member area via the main menu “My Account”.

You can visit the virtual experience on your smartphone, tablet or on your desktop.

Available for ONE WEEK from purchase.

— OR —

Description

• Audio tour available
• Dive expedition 2010 – Video of artifacts as they are being recovered from the ocean
• Dive expedition 2010 – Video of curators on board the recovery ship discussing the artifacts immediately after they were pulled from the ocean floor
• Dive expedition 2010 – Video from Titanic’s wreck site which includes underwater footage of the Ship’s bow, stern, debris field, and more
• See what life was like on board through full scale room re-creations of the Grand Staircase, Promenade Deck, Veranda Café, and more
• Animated timeline of Titanic as it hits the iceberg to the sinking
• Additional facts and information about Titanic, the wreck site, artifacts, personal stories of her passengers and crew

Related products

FULL Version for GROUP discount

LIGHT Version – Titanic: The Virtual Experience

Witness the sinking of RMS Titanic. Explore the shipwreck. Titanic VR is an immersive educational interactive story and game; with over 6 hours of game-play you will leave with a greater understanding of the historic tragedy that unfolded in 1912.

Titanic shipwreck exploration.

Diving to the bottom of the North Atlantic, you take on the role of Dr. Ethan Lynch, Associate Professor of Maritime Archaeology at the fictional University of Nova Scotia. With funding from a mysterious investor, Dr. Lynch and his PhD candidate Jean Robinson have set out aboard a research vessel to dive the wreck of RMS Titanic and discover treasures which have remained submerged for a century.

Begin your missions by navigating your way through the ocean depths until you discover her shipwreck. Follow the instructions set by your mysterious investor and use your ROV to collect and document artefacts which could unveil more truths of the tragic sinking.

System Requirments

Recommended.

OS: Windows 10 Processor: i7 Memory: 32 GB RAM Graphics: GTX 1080ti DirectX: Version 12 Storage: 10 GB available space

*Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system

OS: Windows 10 Processor: i5 Memory: 16 GB RAM Graphics: GTX 970 or above DirectX: Version 12 Storage: 10 GB available space

Buy Titanic VR on PSVR

Buy the full release of Titanic VR on the US PlayStation Store only!

Buy Titanic VR on Oculus

Titanic VR full release available now!

Don’t miss out

I would like information, tips, and offers about TITANIC VR.

Get In Touch

Please let us know if you have any questions., [email protected].

Your Name (required)

Your Email (required)

Your Message

The Titanic Experience

Average Duration  |  1.5 - 2.5 hours

Last Admission  |  1 hour 40 mins before closing

Experience Type  |  Self-Guided

Admission  |  £24.95 Adult, £11 Child

Also includes a self-guided tour of SS Nomadic

Belfast was Titanic’s home, it still is.

Discover the world-famous story through the eyes of those whose hard work and ambition built her.

In the self-guided Titanic Experience you will uncover the sights, sounds, smells and stories of the ship, as well as the people and city that made her.

Follow our themed one-way route as you journey through boomtown Belfast and the shipyard where the liners were built, to the launch, fit out and maiden voyage, before discovering more about the sinking, aftermath, the quest to find Titanic and her final resting place. All whilst exploring the hopes and dreams of those whose lives were impacted by the great ship and wondering at our collection of unique Titanic artefacts.

What You'll See...

How to book your ticket.

The Titanic Experience contains many original Titanic and White Star Line artefacts as well as other fascinating items of cultural and historical interest.

Offers and Events

White star premium pass.

Early Riser

Lord Pirrie Exhibition

My Itinerary

We’re looking forward to welcoming you to Titanic Belfast soon! Here's how your itinerary currently looks.

There have been no activities saved to your itinerary planner yet. Why not take a look at our   Experiences   or upcoming  events   for some inspiration?

Based on your chosen activities, we estimate your visit may take approximately: 0

• Mobile Site
• Staff Directory
• Advertise with Ars

Filter by topic

• Biz & IT
• Gaming & Culture

Front page layout

Our hearts will go on —

3d “digital twin” showcases wreck of titanic in unprecedented detail, “this is a new phase for underwater forensic investigation and examination.”.

Jennifer Ouellette - May 17, 2023 8:43 pm UTC

The RMS Titanic sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic in 1912, but the fate of the ship and its passengers has fascinated the popular imagination for more than a century. Now we have the first full-size 3D digital scan of the complete wreckage—a "digital twin" that captures Titanic in unprecedented detail. Magellan Ltd, a deep-sea mapping company , and Atlantic Productions (which is making a documentary about the project) conducted the scans over a six-week expedition last summer.

“Great explorers have been down to the Titanic ... but actually they went with really low-resolution cameras and they could only speculate on what happened," Atlantic Productions CEO Andrew Geffen told BBC News . “We now have every rivet of the Titanic , every detail, we can put it back together, so for the first time we can actually see what happened and use real science to find out what happened." 

Further Reading

Titanic  met its doom just four days into the Atlantic crossing, roughly 375 miles (600 kilometers) south of Newfoundland. At 11:40 pm ship's time on April 14, 1912,  Titanic hit that infamous iceberg and began taking on water, flooding five of its 16 watertight compartments, thereby sealing its fate. More than 1,500 passengers and crew perished; only around 710 of those on board survived.

Titanic remained undiscovered at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean until an expedition led by Jean-Louis Michel and Robert Ballard reached the wreck on September 1, 1985. The ship split apart as it sank, with the bow and stern sections lying roughly one-third of a mile apart. The bow proved to be surprisingly intact, while the stern showed severe structural damage, likely flattened from the impact as it hit the ocean floor. There is a debris field spanning a 5-by-3-mile area, filled with furniture fragments, dinnerware, shoes and boots, and other personal items.

As reported previously , we've seen images and video footage of the wreck since it was discovered in the mid 1980s. That includes the  footage shot by director James Cameron in 1995 for sequences featured in his  blockbuster 1997 film —although much of the latter was actually miniature models and special effects filmed on a set, since Cameron couldn't get the high-quality footage he needed for a feature film.

Last year, a private company called OceanGate Expeditions released a one-minute video showcasing the first 8K video footage of the wreck of the Titanic , showing some of its features in new, vivid detail. One could make out the name of the anchor manufacturer (Noah Hingley & Sons Ltd.), for instance, and the footage also gave us a better look at the bow, hull number one, the number-one cargo hold, solid bronze capstans, and one of the single-ended boilers. The footage was shot during the company's 2022 descent, with guests forking over $250,000 apiece for a seat on the submersible. A second OceanGate expedition to the Titanic wreckage was planned for this year.

The joint mission by Magellan and Atlantic Productions deployed two submersibles nicknamed Romeo and Juliet to map every millimeter of the wreck, including the debris field spanning some three miles. The result was a whopping 16 terabytes of data, along with over 715,000 still images and 4K video footage. That raw data was then processed to create the 3D digital twin. The resolution is so good, one can make out part of the serial number on one of the propellers.

"This model is the first one based on a pure data cloud, that stitches all that imagery together with data points created by a digital scan, and with the help from a little artificial intelligence, we are seeing the first unbiased view of the wreck," historian and Titanic expert Parks Stephenson told BBC News . “I believe this is a new phase for underwater forensic investigation and examination.”

reader comments

Channel ars technica.

• Skip to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

A remarkable new view of the Titanic shipwreck is here, thanks to deep-sea mappers

Rachel Treisman

Scientists were able to map the entirety of the shipwreck site, from the Titanic's separated bow and stern sections to its vast debris field. Atlantic/Magellan hide caption

Scientists were able to map the entirety of the shipwreck site, from the Titanic's separated bow and stern sections to its vast debris field.

A deep sea-mapping company has created the first-ever full-sized digital scan of the Titanic, revealing an entirely new view of the world's most famous shipwreck.

The 1912 sinking of the Titanic has captivated the public imagination for over a century. And while there have been numerous expeditions to the wreck since its discovery in 1985, its sheer size and remote position — some 12,500 feet underwater and 400 nautical miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada — have made it nearly impossible for anyone to see the full picture.

Until now, that is. Using technology developed by Magellan Ltd., scientists have managed to map the Titanic in its entirety, from its bow and stern sections (which broke apart after sinking) to its 3-by-5-mile debris field.

Newly released footage of a 1986 Titanic dive reveals the ship's haunting interior

The result is an exact "digital twin" of the wreck, media partner Atlantic Productions said in a news release.

"What we've created is a highly accurate photorealistic 3D model of the wreck," 3D capture specialist Gerhard Seiffert says. "Previously footage has only allowed you to see one small area of the wreck at a time. This model will allow people to zoom out and to look at the entire thing for the first time ... This is the Titanic as no one had ever seen it before."

The Titanic site is hard to get to, hard to see and hard to describe, says Jeremy Weirich, the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Ocean Exploration program (he's been to the site).

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'titanic' was king of the world 25 years ago for a good reason.

"Imagine you're at the bottom of the ocean, there's no light, you can't see anything, all you have is a flashlight and that beam goes out by 10 feet, that's it," he says. "It's a desert. You're moving along, you don't see anything, and suddenly there's a steel ship in front of you that's the size of a skyscraper and all you can see is the light that's illuminated by your flashlight."

This new imagery helps convey both that sense of scale and level of detail, Weirich tells NPR.

Magellan calls this the largest underwater scanning project in history: It generated an unprecedented 16 terabytes of data and more than 715,000 still images and 4k video footage.

"We believe that this data is approximately ten times larger than any underwater 3D model that's ever been attempted before," said Richard Parkinson, Magellan founder and CEO.

James Cameron aims to finally put that 'Titanic' door debate to rest, 25 years later

Experts in Titanic history and deep-sea exploration are hailing the model as an invaluable research tool. They believe it could help scientists and historians solve some of the ship's lingering mysteries — and learn more about other underwater sites, too.

Longtime Titanic explorer and analyst Parks Stephenson described the model as a "game changer" in a phone interview with NPR.

"It takes [us] further into new technology that's going to be the standard, I think, not just for Titanic exploration, but all underwater exploration in the future," he adds.

The effort yielded 16 terabytes of data and more than 715,000 still images, in what Magellan calls the largest underwater scanning project ever. Atlantic/Magellan hide caption

The effort yielded 16 terabytes of data and more than 715,000 still images, in what Magellan calls the largest underwater scanning project ever.

A project years in the making, featuring Romeo and Juliet

Explorers and artists have spent decades trying to depict the Titanic wreck, albeit in lower-tech ways.

After Robert Ballard — along with France's Jean-Louis Michel — discovered the site in 1985, he combined all of his photos to form the first photomosaic of the wreck, which showed the ship's bow and was published in National Geographic. Those efforts have been replicated in the years since.

"But the problem with all that is it requires interpretation," Stephenson says. "It requires human interpretation, and there are gaps in the knowledge."

Author Interviews

From cannibalism to cover-up, david grann sees his new shipwreck mystery as a parable.

Flash forward to the summer of 2022. Scientists spent six weeks capturing scans of the site, using technology that Magellan says it had been developing over the course of five years.

The expedition deployed two submersibles, named Romeo and Juliet, some 2.3 miles below the surface to map every millimeter of the wreck site.

They didn't go inside the ship, let alone touch the site, in accordance with existing regulations, and paid their respects to the more than 1,500 victims with a flower laying ceremony.

And they describe the mission as a challenge, with the team fighting bad weather and technical challenges in the middle of the Atlantic.

Titanic: Voyage To The Past

James cameron: diving deep, dredging up titanic.

"When we saw the data come in it was all worth it," Seiffert says. "The level of detail we saw and recorded was extraordinary."

The scientists spent months processing and rendering the data to create the "digital twin," which the company says it's looking forward to sharing publicly.

Stephenson saw an early version of the model, when Atlantic Productions brought him on to consult on its validity. So did Ken Marschall, the maritime artist known for his Titanic paintings.

"We've both seen it with our eyes. We've both seen thousands of digital images of the wreck in imagery, moving imagery," Stephenson said. "But we'd never seen the wreck like this. It was different, but at the same time you just knew it was right."

Experts say the model will be a valuable tool for future Titanic research and deep-sea exploration in general. Atlantic/Magellan hide caption

Experts say the model will be a valuable tool for future Titanic research and deep-sea exploration in general.

There's still a lot left to learn about the Titanic

Can there really be that much left to discover about the Titanic, more than 110 years on?

Stephenson says "at the end of the day, none of this matters." But there's a reason people keep visiting and talking about the wreck, he adds, and it's not because of any buried treasure.

"It's fame, I guess," Stephenson says. "People can't get enough of Titanic. And as long as people can't get enough of the Titanic, people will keep going to ... these mysteries."

TED Radio Hour

Robert ballard: what hidden underwater worlds are left to discover.

In Stephenson's case, it's the unanswered questions that keep drawing him back.

"I've been grinding away at this for a while, and I'm not on a crusade to dismantle the Titanic narrative that has grown since 1912," he says. "But ... I have had enough experience and seen enough evidence that makes me seriously question even some of the most basic aspects of the Titanic story."

One example: Stephenson says there's reason to doubt the long-accepted conclusion that the ship hit the iceberg along its starboard side. He points to a growing body of evidence that suggests it actually grounded briefly on part of the iceberg that was submerged underwater instead.

Just looking at the preliminary modeling has helped Stephenson bring a lot of his evidence and questions into focus — it may be early days, but he says he already has a better understanding of how the ship's stern came to be in such bad shape.

Searching The Ocean's Depths For Future Medicines

Stephenson sees this moment as a paradigm shift in underwater archaeology.

"We're essentially getting to the end of the first generation of Titanic research and exploration, and we're getting ready to transition into the next generation," he says. "And I think this tool basically signals a shift from that generation to the next."

Stephenson wants to use the model to document the extent of Titanic exploration up to this point, from Ballard to James Cameron and beyond. He says a "massive project" is underway, and will hopefully result in a scientific paper and online archive. Then, he plans to use the tool to answer whatever questions remain.

There have been "photomosaics" and other renderings of the shipwreck over the decades, but this is the first such 3D model. Atlantic/Magellan hide caption

There have been "photomosaics" and other renderings of the shipwreck over the decades, but this is the first such 3D model.

The Titanic is a gateway into deep ocean exploration

As a maritime archaeologist, Weirich is most interested in what the ship's condition can teach us about how to better preserve deep-sea shipwrecks in general. For example, how has it impacted the environment since it sunk, and how have the visits since its discovery impacted the site?

The Titanic site has been designated as a maritime memorial, which makes preservation even more important. And Weirich says research on everything from its rate of deterioration to the microbial environment can be applied to other such sites worldwide.

Scientists discover fantastical creatures deep in the Indian Ocean

There are estimated to be hundreds of thousands of wrecks in the world, from ancient wooden ships in the Black Sea to World War II vessels in the Gulf of Mexico, Weirich says.

And this kind of technology could play a crucial role in learning more about deep-sea environments in general, from undersea resources to geological features to unknown species.

Weirich says he hopes these images of the Titanic will give people a greater appreciation for the deep ocean, and a better understanding of just how much is left to explore.

Your Next Car May Be Built With Ocean Rocks. Scientists Can't Agree If That's Good

"The story of Titanic and the shipwreck itself is extremely compelling, but it is a gateway for people to understand what we know and don't know about the deep ocean," he adds.

Weirich remembers being personally captivated by those first images of the shipwreck in National Geographic when he was just 10 years old. That sparked his lifelong interest in ocean exploration — and he hopes young people seeing these latest images are inspired too.

• deep sea exploration

What is submersible tourism? The Titanic expedition, explained.

How common are deep-sea expeditions like the Titan’s? Where else do submersibles go?

Seeing the wreck of the Titanic firsthand is a journey.

One must board a submersible vessel about the size of a minivan built to withstand the pressure of descending nearly two and a half miles into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean . It takes about two hours to reach the sunken ship and another two to get back to the surface, plus time for exploration.

And even with a price tag of a quarter of a million dollars, there has been no shortage of people with interest for such an adventure. Philippe Brown, founder of the luxury travel company Brown and Hudso , said there’s a long wait list for the OceanGate Expeditions submersible experience at the center of the world’s attention. The vessel, called the Titan, vanished Sunday in the North Atlantic with five onboard , triggering a wide-reaching search mission that ended Thursday, when the Coast Guard said a remotely operated vehicle discovered debris from the vessel on the ocean floor. Pieces of the submersible indicated it had imploded in a “catastrophic event," Coast Guard officials said. A spokesperson for OceanGate said the pilot and passengers “have sadly been lost."

For the world’s richest and most intrepid travelers, a submersible trip is not so far-fetched, says Roman Chiporukha, co-founder of Roman & Erica, a travel company for ultrawealthy clients with annual membership dues starting at $100,000.

“These are the people who’ve scaled the seven peaks, they’ve crossed the Atlantic on their own boat,” Chiporukha said. The typical vacation of the ultrawealthy, like a beach getaway on the Italian Riviera or St. Barts, “really doesn’t do it for them,” he added.

That description fits tycoon Hamish Harding , who was among the five people on Titan. An avid adventurer who’s thoroughly explored the South Pole and the Mariana Trench, Harding was also on the fifth spaceflight of Blue Origin , the private space company founded by Jeff Bezos, who owns The Washington Post.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Capt. Hamish Harding (@actionaviationchairman)

Harding and the Titan journey represent the extreme end of the submersible tourism industry, which has been growing in popularity since the 1980s. Ofer Ketter , a longtime submersibles pilot and co-founder of SubMerge , a firm that provides consulting and operations of private submersibles, says such deep-sea journeys are rare in comparison to those in more tropical locations. For example, the luxury tour operator Kensington Tours offers a $700,000, 10-day yacht trip that includes a 600-plus-foot dive in a submersible in the Bahamas to explore the Exumas ocean floor.

Here’s what else to know about the industry.

Deep water, high pressure: Why the Titanic sub search is so complex

Missing Titanic submersible

The latest: After an extensive search, the Coast Guard found debris fields that have been indentified as the Titan submersible. OceanGate, the tour company, has said all 5 passengers are believed dead.

The Titan: The voyage to see the Titanic wreckage is eight days long, costs $250,000 and is open to passengers age 17 and older. The Titan is 22 feet long, weighs 23,000 pounds and “has about as much room as a minivan,” according to CBS correspondent David Pogue. Here’s what we know about the missing submersible .

The search: The daunting mission covers the ocean’s surface and the vast depths beneath. The search poses unique challenges that are further complicated by the depths involved. This map shows the scale of the search near the Titanic wreckage .

The passengers: Hamish Harding , an aviation businessman, aircraft pilot and seasoned adventurer, posted on Instagram that he was joining the expedition and said retired French navy commander Paul-Henri Nargeolet was also onboard. British Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son, Suleman, 19, were also on the expedition, their family confirmed. The CEO of OceanGate , the submersible expedition company, was also on the vessel. Here’s what we know about the five missing passengers.

Titanic tour company offered up-close experience for $250,000

Modern in-person tourism at the Titanic is still in its infancy. 

The submersible that disappeared Sunday near the Titanic wreckage was on only its third trip since the company OceanGate Expeditions began offering them in 2021. 

OceanGate had been promoting the third dive for months on its website and in Facebook posts, offering the chance to “follow in Jacques Cousteau’s footsteps and become an underwater explorer” — for the price of $250,000. 

“ Become one of the few to see the Titanic with your own eyes,” the tour company said on its website. The ticket comes with a title: “mission specialist.” 

Participants have included a chef, an actor, a videographer and someone who worked in banking, the company said on Facebook. 

One of the customers said on Instagram last year that it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that lived up to her expectations. 

“My lifelong dream of seeing the Titanic has come true!” Chelsea Kellogg, a chef, wrote. “I am still trying to process the whole experience. I’m still crying. Still overwhelmed by all the emotions.” 

Kellogg, who did not respond to an interview request Monday, said she saw the ship’s bow, crow’s-nest and grand staircase. 

OceanGate seems to be the only company offering dive tours to the Titanic wreckage, underscoring the practical difficulty of reaching the site 12,500 feet down in the cold North Atlantic where the ship sank in 1912. About 1,500 people died. 

The resting place of the Titanic was unknown for decades, eluding several groups of researchers racing to find it, until a team led by the explorer Robert Ballard succeeded in 1985. Visits — some of them by artifact hunters — continued off and on for two decades.

Don Lynch, the Titanic Historical Society’s historian, said there was some tourism in the 1990s and early this century, when there were both artifacts to find and Russian-made submersibles capable of reaching the site’s depth. A Los Angeles artist went down in 2000 and produced watercolors from the experience .

Lynch, who went down in 2001, said that eventually, the visits trickled off as Russian-made submersibles were retired and fewer artifacts remained.

“There was a lot of salvage going on prior to that, and I think it reached the point where they weren’t bringing up anything that was increasing the museum visits,” he said. 

Until now, no submersible at the Titanic site had ever gone missing, he said.

Beginning in 2005, there was a 14-year dry spell with no human visits. Then, in 2019, another group visited the wreckage site and reported its rapid deterioration. The pace of visits has picked up since. 

RMS Titanic Inc., the company that owns the ship’s salvage rights, once tried to stop tourist visits, hoping to use pictures and tourism operations of its own to raise money for salvage operations, but in 1999 a federal appeals court ruled that tourists could visit , The Washington Post reported. 

Lynch said he thinks the site should have been treated as an archaeological site with careful documentation of all artifacts. He said he has no objection, though, to tourist visits, especially if they help to pay for research.

“Go down. Take a look. That’s great. It doesn’t damage the ship,” he said. 

Past participants praise the experience in a video OceanGate posted on YouTube in October. The video does not give their names. 

“This is a remarkable event in my life,” one person in the video says. 

“Not many people have done it, and that’s part of the appeal, too, right?” another says. 

Customers travel to the Titanic area from St. John’s, Newfoundland, aboard a ship — this year, the research vessel Polar Prince. 

On dive days, five people can fit into the submersible, named Titan, and the descent takes a couple of hours , OceanGate’s website says . 

“You may assist the pilot with coms and tracking, take notes for the science team about what you see outside of the viewport, watch a movie or eat lunch,” it says. 

There is a small toilet in Titan’s front dome, the website continues. It “doubles as the best seat in the house. When the toilet is in use, we install a privacy curtain between the dome and the main compartment and turn the music up loud.” 

OceanGate’s website promises “hours of exploring” before a two-hour ascent. 

There is required safety training for everyone on the research vessel, the website says. Beyond that, training depends on how much customers want to do, such as assisting with navigation. 

Stockton Rush, the founder of OceanGate, told the travel website Frommer’s in 2020 that about half of his customer pool were Titanic obsessives, while the other half were big-spending travelers also drawn to space tourism and other big-budget ideas. The original price back then was $125,000, or half this year’s price. 

“You couldn’t write a better story,” Rush told the website. “You have the rich and the poor. You have opulence. You have hubris. You have tragedy. You have death.”

The company initially planned to have six expeditions in 2021, Frommer’s reported, but it ended up running one that year and one last year. 

Before then, getting a close-up view of the Titanic’s wreckage meant visiting one of several museums where there are artifacts — including one at the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas — or perhaps visiting one of the replicas in Pigeon Forge , Tennessee, or Branson , Missouri. 

OceanGate’s website laid out various details of this year’s expedition, including a minimum age of 18. The price included training, gear and meals on the ship but not airfare, hotels before departure or insurance. 

Lynch, the historian, said the tours demonstrate the lasting curiosity about the Titanic.

“The movie really brought it to a younger audience and created a lot of new Titanic enthusiasts,” he said, referring to director James Cameron’s 1997 film. “Every couple decades, something happens that puts it back in the public eye.” 

David Ingram covers tech for NBC News.

See the Titanic in Stunning Detail With New 3D Scan

Researchers collected 16 terabytes of data to create the very first full-sized 3D scan of the wreckage

Daily Correspondent

More than a century after the Titanic sank during her maiden voyage across the Atlantic, deep-sea researchers have created the first full-sized, 3D digital scan of the wreckage.

Over a period of six weeks last summer, the team used two remotely operated underwater vehicles to explore the shipwreck from all angles, as well as the surrounding debris field that stretches for up to three miles. Items that belonged to the vessel’s roughly 2,200 passengers and crew members—such as champagne bottles, watches and shoes—are still scattered across the seafloor.

In total, the two submersibles captured more than 16 terabytes of data—715,000 images and a high-resolution video—in the North Atlantic, reports the  New York Times ’ April Rubin. Researchers then spent seven months piecing together a “one-to-one digital copy, a ‘twin,’ of the Titanic in every detail,” says Anthony Geffen, who leads  Atlantic Productions , the film company making a documentary about the modeling process, to the  Associated Press ’ Sylvia Hui.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Atlantic Productions (@atlantic.productions)

The result: a model that’s incredibly detailed, showing even tiny features like the serial number on the ship’s propeller.

“This is the Titanic as no one had ever seen it before,” says Gerhard Seiffert, a 3D imaging expert for Magellan, the deep-sea investigation company leading the project, to  CNN ’s Niamh Kennedy.

On April 10, 1912, the Titanic departed from Southampton, England, and began sailing west toward New York City. The vessel struck an iceberg near Newfoundland on April 14 , proceeding to sink in just a few hours. More than 1,500 passengers and crew members died in the wreck.

First located in 1985 , the ship’s wreckage is situated about 435 miles off the coast of Canada, roughly 12,500 feet—2.4 miles—below the water’s surface.

With the model now complete, its creators hope it will help Titanic researchers more accurately piece together  what happened during the famed disaster. Anyone interested in the vessel’s history will be able to use the model to walk through the ship virtually, “as if the water has been drained away,” writes Magellan in a statement.

Already, the scan is leading to new discoveries: For instance, researchers noticed for the first time that one of the Titanic ’s lifeboats wasn’t deployed used because it was “blocked by a jammed metal piece,” reports the Times .

“There are still questions, basic questions, that need to be answered about the ship,” says Parks Stephenson, a Titanic expert who was not involved in the project, to  BBC News ’ Rebecca Morelle and Alison Francis.

The new model, he adds, is “one of the first major steps to driving the Titanic story towards evidence-based research—and not speculation.”

Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

Sarah Kuta | READ MORE

Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.

Missing Titanic submersible live updates: Texts show OceanGate CEO dismissed concerns

Five people, including the company CEO, were aboard the sub when it imploded.

All passengers are believed to be lost after a desperate dayslong search for a submersible carrying five people that vanished while on a tour of the Titanic wreckage off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

The 21-foot deep-sea vessel, operated by OceanGate Expeditions , lost contact about an hour and 45 minutes after submerging on Sunday morning with a 96-hour oxygen supply. That amount of breathable air was forecast to run out on Thursday morning, according to the United States Coast Guard, which was coordinating the multinational search and rescue efforts.

Latest headlines:

Rcmp to investigate the deaths aboard titan sub, us taxpayer cost for search and rescue may be $1.5 million, expert says, oceangate ceo claimed sub was safer than scuba diving, texts show.

• OceanGate co-founder defends development of submersible
• Sub's carbon-fiber composite hull was the 'critical failure,' James Cameron says
• Probe seeks answers on why Titanic sub imploded
• Navy likely detected sound of the implosion on Sunday: Official
• All lives believed to be lost: OceanGate

Officials with Canada's Transportation Safety Board said at a press conference Saturday that they have begun speaking with people on board the Polar Prince, which launched the ill-fated Titan submersible.

The Polar Prince returned to its port, St. John's, Newfoundland, on Saturday morning.

"I would say that we've received full cooperation," TSB Director of Marine Investigations Clifford Harvey said. "It's been a really good interaction thus far and is really getting full cooperation with all the individuals involved."

In addition, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said they are "examining the circumstances" of the deaths on board Titan, and will launch a full investigation if "the circumstances indicate criminal, federal or provincial laws may possibly have been broken."

-ABC News' Matt J. Foster

A defense budget expert estimates once the U.S. military participation concludes, the cost for the search and rescue mission of the five passengers on board the Titan submersible will cost the U.S. around $1.5 million.

Mark Cancian, a senior advisor with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, came up with the estimate based on aircraft sorties, cross referencing the U.S. Department of Defense cost numbers, Coast Guard Cutter costs and flying hour costs. He said some costs have already been set aside in various budgets, with resources simply diverted to the site.

He emphasized that these are strictly well-informed guesses.

A spokesperson for the Coast Guard's District 1 in Boston would not give an estimate of costs so far, saying, "We cannot attribute a monetary value to Search and Rescue cases, as the Coast Guard does not associate cost with saving a life."

-ABC News' Jaclyn C. Lee

US Coast Guard to lead sub investigation

The U.S. Coast Guard will be the organization leading the investigation into the OceanGate sub incident.

The NTSB announced the news on Friday via Twitter, noting it will "contribute to their efforts."

A Las Vegas father and son told ABC News OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush pressured them for months into taking two seats on the now failed mission to the Titanic, making bold claims about the vessel's safety.

Financier Jay Bloom shared text messages between himself and Rush where Rush dismissed concerns from Bloom and his son Sean about taking the trip on the Titan submersible.

"While there's obviously a risk it's way safer than flying in a helicopter or even scuba diving," Rush texted.

"He sort of had this predisposition that it was safe," Bloom told ABC News. "And anybody who disagreed with him, he felt it was just a differing opinion."

Bloom added that Rush flew out to Las Vegas in a homebuilt plane to convince him to attend the voyage aboard the submersible.

"He flew it all the way to Vegas. And I was like, 'This guy is definitely down to take risk,'" Bloom said.

-ABC News' Sam Sweeney

Top Stories

6-year-old girl killed by badminton racket while vacationing with family, israeli special forces dressed as palestinian refugees for hostage rescue: sources, new jersey alcoholic beverage control reviewing liquor licenses held by trump, israel-gaza live updates: doctor treating rescued hostages speaks out, 4 instructors from iowa college injured in china in 'horrifying attack': governor.

HistoryView

Free Educational Virtual Tour Platform of Museums, Art Galleries, National Parks and Historic Sites

Titanic: Voyage of Dreams and Tragedy Remembered

Explore the captivating tale of the Titanic, the legendary ship that captured the world’s imagination, at Titanic museums worldwide. One such museum is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. This museum stands as a poignant tribute to the ill-fated voyage, inviting visitors to step back in time and experience the grandeur and tragedy of the Titanic.

Located at 2134 Parkway, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863, the Titanic Museum is a unique blend of history and immersive storytelling. As you approach the museum, the iconic bow of the Titanic emerges, setting the stage for an unforgettable journey.

Step inside the Titanic Museum and be transported to a bygone era. From meticulously recreated rooms to interactive exhibits, the museum offers a glimpse into the opulence and challenges faced by passengers aboard the Titanic.

Explore the detailed replica of the ship’s grand staircase, walk the promenade deck, and experience the icy conditions of that fateful night. Engaging displays, artifacts, and personal stories shed light on the lives of passengers and crew, creating a deep connection to their experiences.

The Titanic Museum isn’t just a collection of artifacts; it’s a tribute to the human spirit. It commemorates the lives lost and the lessons learned from this historic event. Through its exhibits, the museum inspires reflection on themes of courage, sacrifice, and the indomitable will to survive.

Inspired by the stories of the Titanic’s passengers and crew, consider planning a visit to the Titanic Museum. Immerse yourself in the history, pay respects to those who were aboard, and gain a renewed perspective on the tragedies and triumphs of that unforgettable voyage. Learn more at https://titanicpigeonforge.com .

Related Virtual Tours

RELATED MODELS:

SHARE THIS PAGE:

Please note that all conversations are recorded (DO NOT GIVE PERSONAL INFO)

Titanic. The Exhibition

Maritime Building

Built in 1911, the Maritime Building is one of the last heavy timber post and beam buildings along Seattle’s amenity rich and newly re-designed waterfront district. Maritime underwent significant repo...

Getting there

906 Alaskan Way, Seattle, 98104

Select date and session

––– Low availability

• Includes entry to the experience
• Includes entry to the experience and an exhibition pint glass

Similar Experiences

Bubble world: an immersive experience - waitlist, all day vip pass to original selfie museum seattle, skip the line: daily admission at woodland park zoo ticket, woodland park zoo: skip the line, lemay - america's car museum, admission to the museum of flight, lemay collection: family pack ticket, smith tower straight up observatory access ticket, skip the line: sky view observatory admission tickets, henry mural tours - 3 hour immersive tour of seattle.

Sorry, JavaScript must be enabled to use this web app

• Subscriptions

By clicking Sign In, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and that you have read our Privacy Policy .

Sign In Up with your social account

We won't post to any of your accounts

Your password must include:

• Min 8 characters
• Min 1 lowercase character
• Min 1 uppercase character
• Min 1 number

5 Things to Know About the Titanic Expedition 2024 (Exclusive)

In order to view the video, please allow Manage Cookies

This July, the world’s leading oceanographers, scientists, and historians are joining RMS Titanic, Inc.’s first expedition to the Titanic wreck site since 2010. Take a deep dive with us behind the scenes of this historic mission with five fascinating facts you can only find here.

How long does it take to get to the wreck site? It will take 4 days and 964 Nautical miles from the port located in Providence, RI.

How deep in the Atlantic does the Titanic wreck site lie? The site lies at a depth of 12,500 feet below the surface—the same distance as 35 football fields!

What is the only time of year Expeditions can operate? Swells can reach as high as 22’ during colder months, so summer is the only short window of time to safely launch and explore the deep ocean.

What is a Chief Morale Officer? Rory Golden is the Chief Morale Officer and he is a problem solver and communicator who diffuses stressful situations.

How long does it take to dive to the Titanic and return to the surface? The dive takes 2-2.5 hours to get to the bottom and the same amount of time to return to the surface.

And finally, how can you plan your own adventure to the Titanic? Get a virtual front seat to the expedition by joining RMS Titanic Inc.’s digital community at MemberDiscoverTitanic.com. In addition to expedition exclusives, you’ll receive loads of member benefits. Visit Expedition.DiscoverTitanic.com for more info.

More Stories

Billionaire explains why he's planning voyage to Titanic a year after sub implosion

Nearly a year after five people died aboard the OceanGate "Titan" submersible while on a deep-sea voyage to the site of the Titanic, a billionaire has announced plans to go to the infamous wreck.

Entrepreneur and real estate investor Larry Connor said this week that he and Triton Submarines CEO Patrick Lahey are planning their own deep-sea expedition in a submersible.

Asked why, Connor told "Good Morning America" correspondent Will Reeve that the purpose of the voyage is to "demonstrate safety" of certified submersibles.

"If you look at submersibles that have been DNV certified ... there's never been an accident," he said. "The OceanGate vessel was not certified and never would have been."

While on a tour of the Titanic wreckage off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, in June 2023, the OceanGate submersible imploded underwater, killing all five people on board, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush. Following a dayslong search, the remnants of the missing submersible were found on the ocean floor about 1,600 feet from the bow of the wrecked Titanic.

Experts called the carbon fiber construction of the Titan fundamentally flawed and a whistleblower who worked on a predecessor to the Titan vessel raised concerns about the inefficiency of the hull design. Rush had previously defended the decision to manufacture the submersible with carbon fiber, saying he believed it would have a better strength-to-buoyancy ratio than titanium. The exact cause of the implosion remains under investigation by federal authorities.

OceanGate, which suspended all exploration and commercial operations after the deadly implosion, could not be reached for comment.

Connor said he and Lahey are designing a new, safer and certified submersible, known as the Explorer, that could take two people to the Titanic site. The submersible will cost $13 million to $15 million and have an acrylic hull and offer a near-panoramic view.

Connor said he is "very confident" about the plan and would not do a dive if he was not "100% convinced" that the submersible was safe.

"The moment we don't meet one standard, the project is done," he said. "We will not compromise safety."

In addition to proving safety, he said continued deep-sea dives carry scientific benefits.

"Almost three-quarters of the earth is covered in water. Isn't doing research important and worthwhile, given that fact?" he said.

Hakeem Oluseyi, a physicist and ABC News contributor, said he doesn't think deep-sea submersibles "should be abandoned for a single accident."

"If you think about the early days of space travel, we lost an entire crew," he said. "But that tells us what we've done wrong in the past and how to get it right in the future."

Billionaire plans to take submersible to Titanic nearly one year after OceanGate implosion

Nearly one year after the OceanGate Titan submersible disaster gripped the nation, another ambitious businessman is looking to make the same trip.

Larry Connor, an Ohio businessman and billionaire , told The Wall Street Journal last week about his plans to prove that a dive to the Titanic wreckage site can be done safely when proper engineering is employed.

Shortly after news broke in June 2023 of the Titan's suspected implosion, Connor called up Triton Submarine's CEO Patrick Lahey, who had publicly criticized OceanGate's safety practices and called its CEO "predatory," and insisted they could and should make something better.

“[Connor said], 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,’” Lahey told The Wall Street Journal.

Connor and Triton Subs did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Here's what we know so far about the newest Titanic-bound submersible.

Who is Larry Connor?

Larry Connor is an entrepreneur and founder of The Connor Group , a luxury real estate company based in Dayton, Ohio. His net worth is $2 billion, according to  Forbes , while Connor Group’s real estate portfolio is worth $5 billion.

Connor is a known explorer, having previously voyaged to the  Mariana Trench  and  International Space Station , told news outlets he wants to prove that a deep-sea submersible can be made safely and such a trip can be done "without disaster."

“I want 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,” Connor told The Wall Street Journal.

The date of the intended dive has not yet been announced.

Triton Submarines' $20 million submersible

Connor told the Wall Street Journal he would be working with Triton Submarines, a company that builds submersibles for sea exploration at various depths.

The trip will use the Triton 4000/2 "Abyss Explorer." With a $20 million price tag, the two-person craft is described on the Triton website as “the world’s deepest diving acrylic sub," boasting the ability to descend over 13,000 feet (4,000 meters).

Lahey, the CEO, co-founded Triton with the now-retired Bruce Jones, the former of whom plans to accompany Connor on his mission, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“Patrick has been thinking about and designing this for over a decade," Connor told the outlet. "But we didn’t have the materials and technology. You couldn’t have built this sub five years ago.”

What happened to the OceanGate Titan submersible?

On June 18, 2023, five people boarded a submersible created by the company OceanGate to visit the Titanic wreckage site 12,500 feet (3,800 meters) under the water.

This was OceanGate Expeditions' third annual voyage to the site, and each passenger paid $250,000 for the opportunity to view the wreckage, according to an archived itinerary of the mission.

Aboard the submersible was British businessman Hamish Harding; Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, members of one of Pakistan's most prominent families; French explorer and Titanic expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet; and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.

The vessel was heavily scrutinized before departure for its design, made of carbon fiber and titanium and measured in at about 9 feet high, 8 feet tall, and 22 feet wide. The craft was said to have been piloted with a video game controller .

The submersible was not up to the task and imploded on its way down to the ocean floor. Communication between the Titan and its mothership stopped about 90 minutes into the trip. It is assumed the destruction of the vessel happened soon after.

A massive rescue mission ensued . Ultimately, The Titan's debris were found in five large parts on the sea floor about 1,600 feet from the Titanic's bow and the passengers were declared officially lost on June 22. Some human remains were later recovered.

Contributing: Haadiza Ogwude and Jason Rossi , Cincinnati Enquirer

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Billionaire Plans Dive to the Titanic in a Newly Designed Submersible

Larry Connor, 74, who made his wealth in real estate, said he’s building a new acrylic-hulled submersible that will be certified and rigorously tested to show that deep sea exploration is safe.

By Emily Schmall and Orlando Mayorquín

A real estate billionaire in Ohio is planning an underwater voyage to the site of the Titanic shipwreck, where a submersible imploded on its approach to the sea floor a year ago, killing all five passengers on board.

Shortly after the OceanGate disaster, Larry Connor, 74, a real estate investor and amateur adventurer, contacted the co-founder of Triton Submarines, Patrick Lahey, imploring him to build a submarine that could reach the depths of the Titanic safely and repeatedly, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The two men aim to explore and conduct scientific research at the site, located off the coast of Newfoundland, 12,500 feet under the sea, in a two-person submersible that Triton is designing in the summer of 2026.

“Ours is just not a trip to the Titanic,” Mr. Connor said in an interview on Tuesday. “It’s a research mission.”

“The other purpose is to demonstrate to people around the globe that you can build a revolutionary, first-of-its-kind sub and dive it safely and successfully to great depths,” he added.

The custom sub, which Mr. Connor plans to call “The Explorer — Return to the Titanic,” is still in the design phase and will be based on an existing submarine design that Mr. Lahey had worked on for years. It is listed on the Triton website as the Abyssal Explorer, an acrylic-hulled vessel than can reach depths of 13,000 feet, “the perfect submersible for repeated trips to the deep ocean.”

“Once subsurface, the submersible’s hydrodynamic shape — with wings folded — speeds the descent to 13,000 feet,” the company said on its website. “The journey takes less than two hours, significantly faster than previously possible.” It will be the first acrylic-hulled sub to reach such depths, Mr. Connor said, expanding the visibility of a deep-sea sub from small window portals and cameras to a 320-degree view.

“Frankly, the technology didn’t exist even six or eight years ago,” Mr. Connor said. “It’s only been with recent developments in the last five years that you could build this.”

An interview request with Mr. Lahey was referred to Mr. Connor’s spokesman, who said that only Mr. Connor would speak about the expedition.

Mr. Connor said his interest in venturing down to the Titanic in a new vessel stems from his broader interest in advancing ocean exploration, in this case by innovating the field's best tool — the submersible.

“The best way, in my limited experience, to explore the ocean, is in a submersible,” he said.

The final cost of the sub is still to be determined, but Mr. Connor said it would be in the millions.

Mr. Connor took great pains to contrast the submersible that he plans to use on his dive to the Titanic with that used in the deadly voyage to the sunken ship a year ago.

After the Titan disaster on June 18, 2023, criticism emerged from recreational and professional underwater explorers about the vessel’s cost-saving design choices .

The vessel disappeared under the dark waters of the North Atlantic, losing contact with its Canadian expedition ship on the surface, MV Polar Prince, about 400 miles south of St. John’s, Newfoundland, an hour and 45 minutes into its journey.

On board were Stockton Rush , 61, the founder and chief executive of OceanGate Expeditions, who was piloting the vessel; Hamish Harding , 58, a British businessman and explorer; Paul-Henri Nargeolet , 77, a French maritime expert; Shahzada Dawood , 48, a British Pakistani businessman; and his son, Suleman, 19.

Six days later, a multinational search ended with evidence of a catastrophic implosion that left no survivors.

Until the Titan disaster, no one had ever died while piloting or riding a submersible in the deep sea, a safety record that stood for nearly a century, despite explorers making many thousands of dives.

Mr. Connor contends that the OceanGate episode has hurt the submersible industry and tainted the public’s perceptions of attempts to innovate in the space.

“I’m concerned that people associate diving subs, especially new or different subs, with danger or tragedy,” Mr. Connor said.

Mr. Connor said he wanted to reassert the safety of well-made submersibles, certified (which the industry calls classified) by respected organizations that do rigorous testing. Mr. Connor says the sub would be certified, and take two and a half to three years to build.

OceanGate’s experimental Titan design was not certified, which Mr. Rush advertised as proof of the sub’s cutting-edge innovation even as industry experts expressed concern about the vessel’s safety.

Mr. Connor, on the other hand, said he had a reputation for never taking on “unacceptable risk.”

“If we can’t do it, what we call ‘s and s’ — safely and successfully — we’re just not going to do it,” Mr. Connor said. “We’re not thrill-seekers. We’re not big risk-takers.”

Mr. Connor is also a record-setting skydiver , astronaut and deep-sea explorer, who in 2021 joined Mr. Lahey on three deep dives in five days at the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean, some 200 miles off the coast of Guam. Their vessel, a Triton-built sub known as D.S.V. Limiting Factor, reached sea depths of about 35,000 feet, taller than Mount Everest.

In April 2022, Mr. Connor joined two other paying customers and a retired NASA astronaut on a SpaceX flight to the International Space Station, the first such mission manned only by private citizens and NASA’s first foray in space tourism.

During the eight-day mission, which cost Mr. Connor and the other two customers $55 million each, Mr. Connor and others conducted a series of research experiments in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic and other medical organizations.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly described a submersible safety record prior to the Titan submersible disaster. No one had died on a submersible in the deep sea, but there had been deaths on submersibles in shallower water.

How we handle corrections

Emily Schmall covers breaking news and feature stories and is based in Chicago. More about Emily Schmall

Orlando Mayorquín is a breaking news reporter, based in New York, and a member of the 2023-24 Times Fellowship class , a program for journalists early in their careers. More about Orlando Mayorquín

News | World Oceans Day: Here’s an oceans quiz and a…

Share this:.

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Click to print (Opens in new window)
• Investigative Reporting
• Environment

News | World Oceans Day: Here’s an oceans quiz and a tour of the ocean zones

Here's why noaa is mapping the whole ocean floor.

Saturday, June 8, is the 15th World Oceans Day.

Mapping the seafloor

The oceans cover over 70% of the Earth’s surface. The marine ecosystem is the largest and most abundant in the world. But most of the ocean is permanently dark and incredibly difficult to observe. As of 2022, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had mapped slightly more than 23% of the seafloor in great detail, and even less has been explored with underwater cameras or submersibles. Mapping the seafloor is the first step in exploring the unknown depths of our global ocean.

What is sonar?

Sonar stands for sound navigation and ranging. There are two main types of sonar: active sonar and passive sonar. Active sonar systems emit a pulse of sound into the water, which then bounces off the seafloor, creating an echo. Seafloor depth is calculable using the time difference between creating a sound and receiving its echo.

NOAA Ocean Exploration is an organization dedicated to exploring the deep ocean and filling the gaps in our understanding of the world’s deep waters.

Scientists and governments around the world recognize the importance of making a high-resolution global map of the seafloor. An international collaboration called the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project aims to produce a high-resolution global map of the seafloor by 2030. It has been calculated that it would take one ship nearly 1,000 years to map the entire ocean at all water depths.

Why is it important?

NOAA scientists say a global seafloor map will benefit us all. We will be able to accurately view the entirety of the Earth’s surface for the first time. Having this data layer will improve global prediction models related to weather and climate, tsunami impact zones and sea-level rise. Countries will be able to prioritize conservation efforts to improve fish stocks and coral reefs. Seeing the seafloor with such clarity will reveal more information than we can imagine.

Oceans quiz

Which ocean has been found to be the saltiest ocean in the world?

• Indian Ocean
• Atlantic Ocean
• Pacific Ocean
• All are salty

Answer: B. Of the five ocean basins, the Atlantic Ocean is the saltiest.

How many islands are in the Pacific Ocean?

Answer: D. The islands entirely within the Pacific Ocean can be divided into three main groups known as Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia.

What special ability do dolphins and toothed whales use to locate food and see underwater?

• Echolocation
• Lateral line
• Electrorecption

Answer: A. Dolphins and toothed whales use echolocation to locate food and see their environment. Some toothed whales sighted in northeast U.S. waters include pilot whales, common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, Atlantic white sided dolphins, harbor porpoise and sperm whales.

Which of these whale species is one of the world’s most endangered throughout its range? It is estimated to have a population size of about 450 individuals .

• Humpback whales
• North Atlantic right whales
• Minke whales

Answer: C. The population has been declining since 2010. They feed at or near the surface, which makes them very vulnerable to ship strikes, one of the leading causes of their mortality.

Which of these whales weighs the most?

• Cuvier’s beaked whales
• Blue whales

Answer: D. Blue whales weigh up to 330,000 pounds. Fin whales weigh 80,000 to 160,000 pounds, Minke whales weighs up to 20,000 pounds and Cuvier’s beaked whale weigh 4,000 to 6,800 pounds. The blue whale is the largest animal on Earth. They are endangered. One way to protect them and other whales is to report whale sightings using a Whale Alert App .

What is the loudest animal on Earth?

• African elephant
• Sperm whale
• Bottlenose dolphin
• Northern elephant sea

Answer: B. Sperm whales are regarded as the loudest animals on the planet, capable of making sounds up to 230 decibels, louder than jet engines, which are about 150 decibels.

Four or more correct = Jacques Cousteau, three or less correct = Gilligan

Ocean zones

Most ocean life lives above a depth of 660 feet. Nuclear submarines hover around 850 feet below the surface. Whales aren’t usually seen below about 8,200 feet. The Titanic can be found at 12,467 feet.

The deepest part of the ocean is called the Challenger Deep and is located beneath the western Pacific Ocean in the southern end of the Mariana Trench, which runs several hundred miles southwest of the U.S. territorial island of Guam. Challenger Deep is approximately 7 miles deep. It is named after the HMS Challenger, whose crew first sounded the depths of the trench in 1875.

According to National Geographic, if you were to put Mount Everest at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, its peak would still sit around 7,000 feet below sea level.

Even at the very bottom, life exists. In 2005, tiny single-celled organisms called foraminifera, a type of plankton, were discovered in the Challenger Deep.

Sources: NOAA, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Unworldoceansday.org

• Newsroom Guidelines
• Report an Error

More in News

Crime and Public Safety | Diamond Bar man arrested in Huntington Beach slaying of woman he’d been dating

Health | How to minimize your exposure to microplastics

Health | Alzheimer’s drug that can slow disease gets backing from FDA advisers

Health | Improve your health by stopping negativity and embracing optimism