Less than a year after the loss of Everett, Wash.-based OceanGate’s submersible and its five-person crew during a dive to the Titanic, Triton Submarines is planning a trip to the shipwreck in a completely different kind of vessel with backing from a billionaire real-estate investor, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Journal quoted Triton’s co-founder and CEO, Patrick Lahey, as saying that the trip was conceived as a way to “demonstrate to the world” that his company was capable of making the 12,500-foot-deep dive safely and repeatedly — and that OceanGate’s Titan sub was a “contraption.”
Lahey reportedly plans to make the journey with Larry Connor, a billionaire who has made his mark as an adventurer as well as an Ohio-based investor and tech entrepreneur. Connor, 74, served as the pilot for Axiom Space’s first privately funded mission to the International Space Station two years ago. In 2021, Connor made three submersible dives with Lahey in the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench, descending to depths in excess of 35,000 feet.
“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 Journal.
The timing for the Titanic trip hasn’t been disclosed. Triton intends to have its Abyssal Explorer submersible certified, or “classed,” for Titanic depths by outside authorities. That’s a step that OceanGate didn’t take for its Titan submersible.
During Titan’s development, OceanGate argued that the classification process was too cumbersome. “Bringing an outside entity up to speed on every innovation before it is put into real-world testing is anathema to rapid innovation,” the company said in a 2019 blog posting. Others in the submersible industry, including Lahey, sharply criticized OceanGate’s stance. Now Florida-based Triton and other companies are seeking to repair the industry’s reputation.
Meanwhile, the investigation into last June’s implosion of the Titan sub is continuing. The U.S. Coast Guard is leading the effort, in partnership with the National Transportation Safety Board and regulatory agencies in Canada and France. Investigators are expected to address the causes of Titan’s loss during a public hearing that could take place later this year.
OceanGate suspended exploration and commercial operations just weeks after the tragedy. Seattle tech entrepreneur Gordon Gardiner was appointed CEO last August to guide the company through the investigations and the closure of operations.
