More than a century after its sinking, the Titanic continues to arouse the fascination of millions of people around the world. The ocean liner that its creators believed impossible to sink was devoured by the Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912, about 660 kilometers south of Newfoundland (Canada), when it was heading to New York with 2,200 passengers and crew eager to start a new life in the United States.
Since then, the remains of what was once the largest passenger ship in the world rest at the bottom of the North Atlantic, at a depth of 3,784 meters. But far from being forgotten, the memory of the Titanic is kept very much alive thanks to all kinds of cultural and recreational initiatives dedicated to satisfying the curiosity of its admirers.
One of the most exciting activities around the Titanic is provided by OceanGate Expedition. The American company offers the possibility of going to see the remains of the famous ship with a submersible. It is a very exclusive 8-day mission at sea -it costs $250,000 per person- that now has the whole world in suspense when it transpires that the submarine, with five people on board, disappeared last Sunday.
The ship, called Titan, lost communication with the outside when it was at a depth of about 4,000 meters. The lives of the occupants are in danger since the submersible is designed with an oxygen capacity of up to four days, as detailed by the commander of the US Coast Guard John Mauger when beginning the work of locating and rescuing the ship.
Each Titan expedition offers six “mission specialist” positions, which is what OceanGate Expeditions calls passengers who hire their services for an immersive experience. "They experience a completely strange world that only a few people have had the privilege of knowing," explains the American company on its website. OceanGate Expeditions had successfully carried out two missions before, in 2021 and 2022, and this year had only planned the one that is currently underway.
The submersible is made of carbon fiber and has capacity for five people. Its dimensions are 6.7m long, 2.8m wide and 2.5m high and it has a single porthole at one end through which passengers can view the wreck. The descent is carried out from the third day, if the sea conditions allow it, and during the operation, which lasts about two hours, the passengers assist the pilot with communications.
To control the immersion of the Titan, a Logitech game controller is used, as revealed by the company itself in a video that has been published by the well-known American blogger Ian Miles Cheong on Twitter. Although it is surprising that an operation of this complexity is carried out using a device that we can find for just 40 euros on Amazon, we must bear in mind that some functions of the United States' nuclear submarines are handled with an Xbox 360 controller.
According to the company itself, the OceanGate was designed in collaboration with NASA to provide a safe experience for the members of each mission. "The air pressure inside the submersible remains constant and equal to what we experience at sea level, eliminating the need for decompression during ascent."
The submersible has a system to check pressure changes and the integrity of the ship in real time so that the pilot can abort the dive and return to the surface if necessary.
The occupants of the ship have a large screen that the submarine equips to see the remains of the Titanic. They can also do it using the tablets they receive at the start of the mission.
To take part in the mission, participants must be of legal age and be in good physical condition. They are required to be able to live aboard a ship, have strength, balance and flexibility, as well as adapt to "dynamic environments where plans and schedules can change." Before being accepted, applicants must complete a virtual interview with an OceanGate Expeditions manager who will determine if the candidate meets the conditions to be selected.
The voyages consist of eight days at sea to inspect the wreckage and document the state of the sunken ship, as well as the flora and fauna that inhabit the wreck site. The beginning of the mission is carried out by a mother ship called the Horizon Arctic, which the company describes on its website as a work ship equipped with lounges, a dining room and a gym.
