There are many ways to challenge the sea: there are those who do it out of necessity and in desperation, in search of a better life, board uncertain small boats; and those who do it for pleasure, yet another plaything in a successful life and do not hesitate to spend exorbitant amounts, just to satisfy their ambitions.
But at sea there are no differences. There are five people aboard the small submersible, the Titan, which disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean while taking them to view the wreckage of the Titanic. The shipment is organized by OceanGate which does not hesitate to ask for 250,000 dollars for the undertaking. The small submarine disappeared near the site of the sinking of the Titanic, and the search and rescue mission of the vessel has already started. The wreck of the Titanic, discovered in 1985, lies at a depth of 3,800 meters and approximately 640 kilometers away from the Canadian island of Newfoundland.
Considered unsinkable, the Titanic sank in the night between 14 and 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg: it was her maiden voyage, made on the route from Southampton (in the United Kingdom) to New York. Almost 1,500 of the more than 2,200 people on board were killed in the tragedy. The tragedy has always fascinated and struck the imagination, so much so that there is a small submarine that transports tourists to visit the wreck of what at her time was the largest passenger ship in the world, considered unsinkable.
Diving together with the Titanic: the spectacular underwater images at a depth of 3800 meters
OceanGate Expeditions, the company that organizes these expeditions, confirmed in a statement that it owned the missing submarine and explained that it was doing everything possible to rescue the five people on board. The company added that it has obtained “extensive assistance” from various government agencies and other companies in trying to re-establish contact with the submarine. OceanGate Expeditions is the only company that has the submarine, called the Titan, that is capable of reaching the bottom of the ocean to see the remains of the Titanic up close. The submarine manages to accommodate no more than five people.
In recent days, the company had announced on its website and on social networks that an expedition was about to start; and on June 14, he tweeted that he was using satellite communications company Starlink to keep the line of communication open with the shipment.
On the company’s website, seven-day trips to see the remains of the Titanic are advertised, and their price is about 250 thousand dollars. To get on board, you need to sign a release, as told by a journalist, David Pogue, who did it last summer for Cbs News, at the invitation of the company itself. “Hopefully, I would have spent about 12 hours sealed inside during a dive on the Titanic. I won’t lie; I was a little nervous, especially because of the paperwork to sign, which read, ‘This experimental vessel has not been approved or certified by any regulatory body and could result in physical injury, emotional trauma or death.’ “I’m trying to make a dream come true. Someone dreams of buying a Ferrari, others a house, I wanted to go see the Titanic. And dreams are priceless», a Hispanic woman and wealthy banker, Renata Rocas, told the journalist on that occasion. “They call me the Wild Monk and indeed I look like a monk. I’m a very calm guy, but I have these extreme passions that I like to cultivate »: this is how an Indian industry tycoon explained his choice.
The profile of OceanGate’s customers is instead explained by the CEO of the company, Stockton Russ: «We have customers who are fans of the Titanic, we call them Titaniacs: we have had people who have mortgaged their homes to come and make the trip. And people who don’t think twice about a trip of this cost. There was even a gentleman who had won the lottery.’