First expedition to Titanic wreck underway since OceanGate disaster
A group of researchers and scientists is currently on the way to the Titanic to explore the famous wreck and the surrounding seabed, marking the first journey to the site since the infamous OceanGate disaster last year.
The Titanic Expedition 2024, led by RMS Titanic, Inc., set sail onboard the Dino Chouest on July 12. The expedition’s aim is to photograph and map the wreck site in the finest detail yet with the help of unmanned, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). “We want to see the wreck with a clarity and precision that’s never before been achieved,” David Gallo, oceanographer and co-leader of the expedition, told BBC News.
Prior to the vessel launching from Rhode Island’s Providence, the used ROVs were fully fitted with a custom-built structured array of high-resolution cameras and custom lighting that will provide 65K resolution imagery to provide the most advanced and accurate images of the wreck site and debris field to date and help to identify artefacts at risk of being lost that can be targeted for recovery and conservation in a future expedition.
“The 2024 expedition will not only provide the most advanced and detailed look at the current state of the wreck site and debris field but will also allow us to assess which artefacts may be at risk of being lost forever,” said RMS Titanic, Inc. President Jessica Sanders. She added: “By utilising the latest imaging and deep-sea technologies, we will get an accurate assessment of some of the most cherished artefacts, including the Marconi Radio, identify new artefacts, and we hope to shine a light on new discoveries that have never been seen before.”
“Titanic is one of the most studied shipwrecks to date and Marine Imaging Technologies is excited to bring the highest resolution camera systems ever deployed at the site in an effort to bring new insights about the ship to the community,” said Marine Imaging Technologies Founder and Senior Director of Photography Evan Kovacs.
The mission of the Titanic Expedition 2024 is to utilise the latest technology to continue the important work of surveying the Titanic wreck site, enhancing our understanding of its historical significance, identifying at-risk artefacts for safe recovery in future expeditions, protecting and conserving the area for future generations, furthering current scientific study, engaging a world-wide community in discovering and identifying new artefacts and marine life never before seen, and inspiring the next generation of explorers.
According to RMS Titanic, Inc., it will take between 2 and 2.5 hours for the ROV to reach the Titanic. Alongside documenting the famous shipwreck further, the researchers want to honour the lives lost in the sinking of the Titanic, as well as those who died in last year’s OceanGate incident which killed five people on board the Titan submersible who wanted to reach the Titanic. One of the people inside the submarine was Paul Henri ‘PH’ Nargeolet, then director of research at RMS Titanic, Inc. In his honour, the researchers will install a plaque on the seabed as part of the Titanic Expedition 2024.
“It’s tough but the thing about exploration is that there’s an urge and a drive to keep going. And we’re doing that because of that passion PH had for continuous exploration,” explained friend and historian Rory Golden, speaking to BBC.
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