Experiencing a ‘Lifetime Dream’ Seeing the Titanic Wreck
Renata Rojas, a passenger who once took the Titan submersible, said seeing the Titanic wreck up close was “a lifetime dream come true.”
“You always feel overwhelmed, not just because of the reality of being there, but also because you’re so close to the wreck. I was very impressed,” Rojas shared after visiting the Titanic wreck in 2022 aboard the Titan submersible, which went missing on June 18 while carrying five passengers.
Along with Rojas, the expedition included two other passengers, the captain, and an expert. The experience of witnessing the Titanic wreck firsthand was described by the female traveler as “fulfilling a lifelong dream.” Chelsea Kellogg, another guest on the 2022 tour, also expressed that her “dream of seeing the Titanic in this lifetime has come true.” Kellogg was emotional and overwhelmed upon her first view of the wreck, calling the experience “a once-in-a-lifetime event” and “exactly as expected.”
In a YouTube video posted in October 2022, those who had visited the Titanic wreck praised the tour experience. “It was a remarkable event in my life,” said an anonymous guest. “Not many people have done this, and that’s part of its allure,” another guest commented.
OceanGate Expeditions is currently the only company offering tours to the Titanic wreck site, located 4,000 meters deep in the North Atlantic Ocean, according to NBC. The Titanic sank in 1912, claiming over 1,500 lives. The wreck was discovered in 1985 and was recognized as an underwater world heritage site by UNESCO in April 2012.
Don Lynch, a historian from the Titanic Historical Society, noted that there have been various tourism activities to the wreck site since the 1990s. Some artists in Los Angeles went to the seabed in 2000 and created watercolor paintings from the experience. However, the number of visits declined after Russian-manufactured submersibles ceased operation.
Stockton Rush, founder of OceanGate Expeditions, mentioned that participating in the tour is not as easy as “picking candy off a pillow.” Each passenger has a responsibility to assist the crew during the trip. Rush noted that most participants are “Titanic enthusiasts,” while others are wealthy individuals attracted by unique and expensive travel experiences. The initial price for the tour was $125,000 per person, half of the current rate.
Aaron Newman, a former passenger on the Titan, described the trip as dark and cold. “If the submersible is at several hundred meters depth without power, passengers will be completely immersed in darkness and experience cold,” Newman said. The temperature gets colder as the submersible approaches the Titanic wreck, and passengers must wear multiple layers of clothing, knit caps, and take every measure to stay warm inside the vessel.
John Danny Olivas, a retired astronaut trained for NASA underwater explorations, said the Titanic tour is “a very stressful situation.” He was concerned about the lack of air circulation in the cabin and the risks associated with breathing in a confined space with five people producing CO2.
Mike Reiss, who experienced the deep-sea visit to the Titanic with OceanGate, said it took the crew three hours to locate the wreck despite the submersible being only 500 meters from the UNESCO site. He had to sign a waiver before the trip, with the first page mentioning death three times. Reiss said his greatest fear was that the submersible would not be able to surface after descending to the bottom.
The Titan submersible weighs about 10,000 kg, is nearly 7 meters long, 3 meters wide, and 2.5 meters high. It can carry a payload of 685 kg and has a single window for passengers to view the Titanic wreck. The submersible travels at 3 nautical miles per hour (5.5 km/h) and has no seats, only a small toilet at the end, covered by a curtain.
In 2021, Titan successfully completed its first trip bringing passengers close to the Titanic wreck. To date, the Titan submersible has only conducted three passenger trips, with the third experiencing a malfunction and going missing in the deep ocean. The Boston Coast Guard, Massachusetts, USA, is leading the search and rescue mission.
“In your mind, you’re always thinking about the danger. Any small issue can turn into a major disaster,” Reiss said.
