In a daring display of confidence and technological prowess, Ohio real estate investor Larry Connor, teaming up with Triton Submarines co-founder Patrick Lahey, has announced an ambitious plan to navigate the perilous depths of the Atlantic to the Titanic wreckage.
This move comes on the heels of a catastrophic failure that shook the personal-submarine industry just last year.
The tragic implosion of the OceanGate submersible, which resulted in the loss of all five passengers aboard, including its CEO, Stockton Rush, has cast a dark shadow over deep-sea exploration.
On June 18, during what should have been a routine dive to the Titanic, the Titan suffered a “catastrophic implosion”, instantly claiming the lives of the affluent passengers and the company leader.
Connor and Lahey aim to challenge the ensuing skepticism and prove the viability of deep-sea voyages with their $20 million brainchild, the Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer.
This new submersible is not just a testament to modern engineering but also to the indomitable spirit of exploration, able to dive to depths exceeding 4,000 meters—well beyond the Titanic’s resting place.
“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,” Connor remarked to The Wall Street Journal.
The resolve to execute this dive, despite the recent industry setback, speaks volumes about Connor’s determination.
He and Lahey’s collaborative efforts led to the creation of a vessel capable of withstanding the ocean’s tremendous pressure, a feat that Connor confidently claims could not have been accomplished even five years prior due to technological limitations.
The tragic history associated with the OceanGate Titan, labeled as “experimental” in the waiver signed by passengers, had raised alarming concerns.
A former chief submersible pilot previously expressed fears that Rush’s “quest to boost his ego” could result in fatalities. Famed filmmaker and Titanic explorer James Cameron, along with some engineers, had warned OceanGate officials about the potential for “catastrophic failure” involving the Titan.
In the wake of this incident, Lahey and other industry experts condemned OceanGate for not adhering to established safety standards.
They pointed to the lack of certification from credible safety groups, a decision that, in retrospect, seems ill-fated. The harrowing event led to the belief that such journeys might be excessively hazardous.
Yet, Lahey maintains a sense of optimism, distinguishing between the specific issues with OceanGate and the industry as a whole. “In that sense, OceanGate didn’t make the industry look bad,” said former OceanGate consultant Rob McCallum to the Journal, “It made us look good.”
The planned journey of Connor and Lahey aboard the Triton 4000/2 does not yet have a fixed date. “[He said], you know, what we need to do is build a sub that can dive to [Titanic-level depths] repeatedly and safely and demonstrate to the world that you guys can do that, and that Titan was a contraption,’” Lahey told the paper.
Relevant articles:
– Ohio man plans to take a 2-person submersible to Titanic depths to show the industry is safe after the OceanGate tragedy, Yahoo
– Ohio billionaire Larry Connor plans to take $20M sub to Titanic site to prove industry’s safer after OceanGate implosion, New York Post
– Ohio billionaire to take submarine to Titanic site one year after OceanGate implosion, NBC Los Angeles