In the first commercial mission to the Titanic wreckage site since last year’s OceanGate implosion killed five people, a group of scientists, historians and imaging experts set sail from Rhode Island on Friday, July 12. The team with the U.S. company RMS Titanic Inc. hopes to gather the most detailed photographic record ever made of the Titanic’s remains.
Two robotic vehicles will reportedly dive to the bottom of the ocean to capture millions of high-resolution images and to make a 3D model of all the debris within the Titanic’s wreckage. As part of the reconnaissance mission, every single part of the vessel will be scanned to gain new insights into the lives of passengers, the ship’s ornate items within and further details about the ship’s ultimate demise.
Researchers will review the state of some well-known objects among the debris, such as boilers that spilled out as the streamliner broke in half after it hit an iceberg and a cast iron plate of a Steinway grand piano. They also hope to gather some of the passengers’ possessions, like bags, to help tell the stories of people aboard the ship, providing more context than just a name to a victim.
One of the five people who died during the OceanGate tragedy held the position of director of research for the company, which owns exclusive salvage rights to the liner. A plaque honoring him will be placed on the seabed during the operation.
This mission will be the company’s ninth visit to the wreckage. It confirmed the group will not be using manned submersibles on the mission but will spend 20 days on a ship above the wreck.
The corporation has drawn criticism for removing items from the ship. In total, 5,500 items from the ship were removed to date. Critics say that the Titanic is a gravesite for the 1,500 people who died that night in 1912 and should remain untouched.
However, company researchers argue that just letting “her passengers and crew be lost to history would be the biggest tragedy of all.”