Undeterred, controversial OceanGate advertises for new trips to Titanic wreckage site

The “catastrophic implosion” of the Titan submersible, which tragically killed all its five passengers on board, while on its undersea journey to the iconic Titanic wreck site, shocked the world.

Despite this huge tragedy and in the midst of controversial allegations of the lack of adequate safety measures undertaken by the organisers, OceanGate, the company that commercially conducts such adventure undersea expeditions seems to be still promoting new trips to the underwater ruins on its website.

According to the company website, the undersea exploration company is scheduling two trips to the Titanic wreck underwater next year. One is from June 12 to June 20, 2024 and the other from June 21 to June 29, 2024 at a price of $250,000 for each individual.

At this cost, this eight-day expedition to dive and see the famous Titanic wreck involves one submersible dive, private lodgings, all necessary training, expedition equipment and all meals while on board. The maximum capacity for each dive in the submersible is limited however to six individuals, with a minimum age requirement of 17 years.

There are details available on the kind of accommodation available inside the submersible which includes stateroom bedrooms and shared bathrooms, along with the availability of Wi-Fi connectivity. The website also lists out the itinerary of the expedition, which starts  on the first day with the passengers arriving at the seaside city of St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada to meet their expedition crew and get into the vessel.

Also read: Titan submersible: US Coast Guard says presumed human remains found in wreckage

The explorers will then familiarise themselves with life on a working vessel, as the vehicle embarks on the 400-nautical-mile-journey to the wreck site. The dive to the Titanic wreckage begins on day 3 and concludes on day 7, with the return to St John’s on day 8.

Earlier, after the submersible implosion which killed Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, a renowned Titanic expert, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush,61, British billionaire Hamish Harding,58, prominent Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood,48, and his son Sulaiman Dawood,19, the company had issued a statement stating that they have called off these expeditions ‘indefinitely’.

Experts said, according to news reports, that passengers may have died instantly as a result of the implosion that occurred on June 18.

Also read: James Cameron on Titan submersible tragedy: I’m struck by the similarity of Titanic disaster itself

US Coast Guard told the media that experts recently recovered what may be human remains from the submerged submersible that imploded during its expedition to explore the Titanic.

Debris from the vessel, collected from the ocean floor 12,000 feet below the North Atlantic’s surface, has now arrived at St John’s, Newfoundland. The examination of the wreckage is critical for providing a clue to the cause of the implosion that claimed the lives of all five individuals on board.

A debris field was found on the seafloor, 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic, located nearly four kilometres below the ocean’s surface and 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland.

Also read: What caused submersible Titan’s implosion? Investigation begins