Scientists and "citizen explorers" can visit Titanic wreckage in 2019 for $100,000
Scientists will be able to visit the wreckage of the famed ocean liner Titanic starting next summer for about $100,000 per person. A company called OceanGate successfully reached more than 13,000 feet underwater using a privately built submersible vessel. That's the depth where the Titanic settled in the North Atlantic Ocean after it sank in 1912.
The team spent six months perfecting the deep dive off the coast of the Bahamas. OceanGate CEO and co-founder Stockton Rush completed the daring mission in about seven hours as he piloted the company's newest vessel, Titan.
"I can't express what that has meant to me and what it means to imagine the great things we're going to explore and find in the oceans in the years to come," Rush said.
Titan, which can hold up to three passengers and two crew members at a time, will be used in OceanGate's "Titanic Survey Expedition" in 2019. The company currently plans six expeditions to the wreck next summer.
Trips to the Titanic will be available to researchers and "citizen explorers" at $105,129 per person. That's equivalent to the cost of first class passage ($4,350) on Titanic's inaugural sailing after adjusting for inflation, The Lewiston Tribute reports.
The ship sank after hitting an iceberg during its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City in 1912. More than 1,500 people were lost. The wreck was rediscovered in 1985.
The company says its underwater vehicle will open access to half of the world's ocean waters.