Tours of Titanic shipwreck coming in 2018

Feng Xue
By Feng Xue
April 14, 2017World News
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The world’s most famous shipwreck lies 2 miles under the ocean. It’s the Titanic.

Soon, people will be able to explore it up close.

OceanGate Expeditions will offer weeklong missions to the bottom of the Atlantic.

A crew plans to study the shipwreck. But since the Titanic wreck is a UNESCO world heritage site, they can only look but not touch.

“The plan is to scan the wreck with the latest technology, to document its current condition, and then be able to see how that changes over time,” said Stockton Rush, CEO and founder of OceanGate Inc.

Each mission will include experts as well as select members of the public.

“This is not a tourist operation. We have a number of nautical archaeologists in deep sea marine biologists, as well as our own crew, that will go. There are five individuals that can go on each dive. Three of those are what we call mission specialists. So those are the folks who helped finance the mission, but they are also active participants,” said Rush.

Going on a mission will cost you about US$105,000. But for many who are enchanted by the Titanic tale, the price tag is not a barrier.

“Is there any price for a dream? I’ve made a lot of sacrifices over time. I’ve saved a lot of money over time. I don’t own an apartment. I don’t own a car. I haven’t gone to Everest yet. All my savings have been going toward my dream, which is going to Titanic,” said Renata Rojas, a master diver and Titanic fanatic. She is one of OceanGate’s mission specialists.

“It’s a tragedy that wasn’t supposed to happen. It disappeared for years. It was mystical. And that attracts a lot of people. That’s what attracted me to it.”

Rojas’s dream visit to the Titanic will come true in 2018, when the missions will start.

No dive team has visited the site in the past 12 years.

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