This Company Is Building The Submersible For The New Mission To The Titanic Wreckage

Triton Submarines is set to build a new submersible for Ohio businessman Larry Connor’s mission to explore the Titanic wreck. Connor, a luxury real estate billionaire and adventurer, alongside Patrick Lahey, co-founder of Triton Submarines, plan to descend to around 3,800 meters (12,467 feet) in the North Atlantic Ocean to view the iconic shipwreck.

The terrible implosion of an OceanGate vessel last year, which killed all five people on board, rocked the private submersible sector. The aforementioned incident brought to light the perils linked to deep-sea exploration, leading to demands for more stringent safety protocols. In response, Connor’s corporate representative stressed that their mission wouldn’t start until the submersible obtained complete certification from a marine agency. But no precise schedule for the journey has been established.

The mission will utilize the Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer. This submersible can safely operate at depths of up to 4,000 meters, significantly deeper than the ill-fated OceanGate Titan, which was only certified to 1,300 meters. The Titan, constructed from carbon fiber, met a catastrophic end in June 2023, taking with it OceanGate’s CEO Stockton Rush, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, British businessman Hamish Harding, and former French navy diver Paul-Henry Nargeolet. Investigations by US and Canadian authorities into the implosion are ongoing.

Connor expressed his motivations to the Wall Street Journal, stating, “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.” He and Lahey hope that their successful expedition will renew interest in private submersibles, which suffered a blow following the Titan disaster. OceanGate suspended operations, and other companies faced declining sales and canceled orders.

Lahey, who co-founded Triton Submarines in 2008, noted the chilling effect the Titan tragedy had on public interest in deep-sea vehicles. Despite this, he remains committed to demonstrating the potential and safety of properly certified submersibles. In 2021, Connor and Lahey successfully ventured to the Challenger Deep and the Sirena Deep in the Mariana Trench, the deepest points on Earth’s seabed, reaching nearly 36,000 feet.