A billionaire from Ohio is preparing to descend to "Titanic-level depths" in a multi-million dollar submersible, nearly a year after a tragic incident where a sub imploded on its way to the ship’s wreckage.
Larry Connor intends to undertake this venture with Triton Submarines co-founder Patrick Lahey, aiming to showcase the safety of the personal-sub industry post the tragedy that claimed five lives.
“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 told The Wall Street Journal.
The duo plans to venture into the ocean depths aboard a Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer – a two-person submersible, touted as the "world’s deepest diving acrylic sub" capable of reaching 4000 meters, surpassing the Titanic's depth of approximately 3,800 meters.
“Patrick has been thinking about and designing this for over a decade. But we didn’t have the materials and technology,” Connor explained. “You couldn’t have built this sub five years ago.”
Connor, known for his adventurous spirit, has previously explored the Mariana Trench and the International Space Station, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
The decision to embark on this deep-sea exploration follows the tragic implosion of the OceanGate sub last June, resulting in the loss of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
“He called me up and 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 recalled.
Connor has not disclosed the exact timing of the voyage, according to the Enquirer.
On June 18, the 21-foot Titan submersible disappeared during an attempted exploration of the Titanic wreckage. After nearly five days of search efforts, the U.S. Coast Guard reported discovering debris "consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel" on the ocean floor near the Titanic.
Since 2021, OceanGate's Titan submersible had been conducting tours to view the Titanic's decay, with the expedition costing about $250,000 per person.
Coast Guard officials revealed that remnants of the Titan were located by a remote-operated vehicle (ROV) at depths exceeding two miles on the sea floor. Additionally, a debris field was found approximately 1,600 feet from the Titanic's bow.
During the search for the missing submersible, the Coast Guard's ROV identified "five major pieces of debris" that confirmed their suspicion that it was the remains of the Titan.