The first expedition to the wreck of the Titanic is set to take place since the Titan sub disaster which saw the deaths of all five passengers onboard following a ‘catastrophic implosion’.
The unmanned mission will be executed by RMS Titanic Inc – a firm who owns salvage rights to one of the most famed shipwreck’s in the world – the Titanic.
RMS Titanic Inc are aiming to conserve the tragic history of the Titanic, which saw it’s demise in April 1912, for future generations.
The announcement comes a year after the Oceangate disaster claimed the lives the company’s CEO Stockton Rush, 61, Hamish Hardin, 58, Paul Henry Nargeolet, 77, and father-and-son Shahzada, 48 and Suleman Dawood, 19.
On June 18, 2023, the expedition which cost £250,000 per ticket, disappeared after it plunged into the sea to explore the remains of the Titanic.
RMS Titanic Inc will conduct an unmanned mission of the Titanic wreckage more than a year after the Oceangate tragedy
he US federal government had tried to prevent RMS Titanic’s dive last year, citing federal and international agreements that the wreckage is a gravesite (pictured: The Titanic)
The company was slammed for flouting warnings of the risks and offering cut-price tickets to some of those on the trip – and an investigation is ongoing.
According to the Independent, the US federal government had tried to prevent RMS Titanic’s dive last year, citing federal law as well as an international agreement that categorised the wreckage as a gravesite.
However the organisation have since gained permission to search the area after explaining they seek to disturb the wreckage as little as possible.
They said this includes ‘the hull of the ship and the remains of those 1,500 souls lost in the sinking of the ship.’
Despite the challenges, the company confirmed to the Independent, that their mission was still going ahead next month.
According to the publication, this year’s dive will be entirely unmanned with vehicles being remotely operated.
The firm told a Reddit thread last week, that they intend to keep the ROV’s under water for 20 days in total, so they can gather as much information about the site as they can.
‘We aren’t using manned submersibles this time around, so thankfully we don’t have to worry about that, just the cabin fever of being stuck on the ship,’ they penned.
This most recent expedition will be the RMS Titanic Inc’s first since 2010 – and they intend to use the most advanced technology.
The bow of the RMS Titanic in her resting place at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean
On June 18, 2023, the Oceangate expedition which cost £250,000 per ticket, disappeared after it plunged into the sea to explore the remains of the Titanic
French Navy veteran PH Nargeolet (left) was in the sub along with Stockton Rush (right), CEO of the OceanGate Expedition
All five onboard died, including British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding (left) and Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman (right), who was just 19
During the dive, they hope to document items they can possibly recover on future expeditions.
They also aim to gather as much mew detail about the tragedy, with the company quipping the wreckage may be packed with ‘surprises’.
One of their main aims is to retrieve the Marconi wireless system – a piece of equipment which was used to send the SOS signal during the disaster in the North Atlantic.
The firm will not be entering the ship itself during next month’s dive, the Independent reports.
Lying on the bottom of international water, no one owns the Titanic ship, however RMS Titanic Inc was given exclusive rights to salvage the wreckage.
These rights were handed to the firm via an agreement established between Liverpool and London Steamship Protection and Indemnity Association in 1994.
MailOnline has reached out to RMS Titanic Inc for more information.