The last deadly trip of the Titan submersible will not mean the end of the exploration of the Titanic, if a billionaire is successful in his bid worth millions.
Ohio-based real-estate tycoon Larry Connor is developing, alongside deep-sea explorer Patrick Lahey, a new vessel to visit the world-famous shipwreck.
The submersible 2 Abyssal Explorer has been described as “a high-performance, flexible platform with capabilities that are simply unmatched” by the company creating it, Triton Submarines.
The design of this sub, dubbed 4000 in a nod to the depth in metres it is expected to be safely able to reach, features a large domed cabin seating two deep-sea explorers, clear glass windows and massive retractable 19-foot wings.
These wings are fitted with both skylights, allowing for clearer visibility as luminosity decreases the deeper the submersible descends, and cameras.
The sub will be 10ft tall and weigh some 12,000kg, which makes it bigger than the Titan, as it was 8.2ft tall and weighed 9,525kg.
The Triton 4000 is controlled by a joystick and a touchscreen giving its passengers control over the journey.
Chief designer Mr Lahey also added a special “silent glide” technology to the sub with the aim of helping the vessel perform both intricate and sweeping turns, a particularly important feature when fighting deep-sea currents in the Atlantic.
The sub is also tipped to be able to track an object underwater and glide towards the target.
Despite its size, the creators of the 4000 sub hope it will be able to reach the Titanic wreck, more than 12,400ft below the Atlantic Ocean, in less than two hours through its eight, direct-drive thrusters moving at three knots.
However, a similar trip will not be undertaken until the sub is fully certified by a marine organisation.
The expensive deep-sea exploration market was badly hit after last June OceanGate’s Titan vessel imploded during a trip to the Titanic.
Five people, including OceanGate’s CEO Stockton Rush, died on that trip.
Mr Connor hopes the 4000 will reignite trust in deep-sea trips. He told the Wall Street Journal: “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.”
Mr Lahey said: “We had a client, a wonderful man. 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’.”
