How much did they pay for the expedition?
According to OceanGate Expeditions, the company that operates the Titan submersible, tourists pay $250,000 for the eight-day expedition to the Titanic wreck. The expedition includes a scientific objective of studying the decay of the ship’s wreckage, as well as operating sonar equipment and other tasks in the submersible. The expedition also provides accommodation, meals, and transportation to and from the dive site.
According to OceanGate Expeditions, the full dive to the Titanic, including the descent and ascent, typically takes around eight hours. The descent from the surface to the Titanic usually takes three hours. The expeditions usually include eight days at sea and each full dive to the wreck site can last for up to 10 hours.
Diving to the Titanic is a risky and challenging endeavour. Some of the risks include:
- Extreme pressure: At 12,500 feet (3,800 meters), the pressure is about 380 times greater than at the surface. This means that any submersible or equipment has to be specially designed and tested to withstand such high pressure. A failure of the hull or any component could result in a catastrophic implosion, as it may have happened to the Titan submersible.
- Low temperature: The water temperature at the Titanic wreck site is around 1°C (34°F), which is below the freezing point of fresh water. This poses a risk of hypothermia for any divers or submersible occupants, as well as a risk of freezing or malfunctioning of equipment.
- Darkness: The Titanic lies in a region known as the “midnight zone”, where no sunlight can penetrate. This means that visibility is very limited and dependent on artificial lights. Navigating in the dark can be difficult and disorienting, and any loss of power or communication could be fatal.
- Icebergs: The Titanic wreck site is located in an area where icebergs drift south from Greenland. These icebergs pose a hazard to any surface vessels that transport or support the submersibles, as they can collide with them or block their path. Icebergs can also affect the ocean currents and waves, making the diving conditions more unpredictable.
How often does OceanGate Expeditions offer these expeditions?
OceanGate Expeditions is a company that offers deep-sea adventures to explore the 95% of the seafloor human eyes have rarely seen. One of their expeditions is to explore the Titanic wreck site in 2023. According to their website, they offer these expeditions annually.
