Human trips to Titanic wreck 'will likely end' in wake of Titan tragedy

Experts say remotely operated vehicles could and should be used to view the ship

The Titanic sank in 1912, claiming the lives of almost 1,500 passengers and crew. PA

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Human trips to visit the wreck of the Titanic will likely end, at least for a time, following the death of five people on board the Titan submersible, according to a historical expert.

Titanic expert Dr Rudi Newman said it is “quite probable” the ship may be left alone entirely for some time after the incident.

He told The National that the incident is likely to have an impact on the submersibles industry in general, as the investigation may temporarily halt all work using them.

He said remotely operated vehicles – or ROVs – have become an increasingly viable option over submersibles to visit the wreck.

“Dr Robert Ballard, when he found Titanic, was very pro what he calls telepresence, the idea of being there via video camera. That has very much increased with ROV technology,” said Dr Newman.

“And the rapid discovery of the submersible, once the ROV was on the bottom, demonstrates just how much technology has advanced, in that regard.”

His comments were echoed by Charles Haas, president of the Titanic International Society, an organisation set up in 1989 to preserve the history of the ship, who also questioned whether manned visits to the historic site 3,800 metres below the surface should continue.

In a statement published online on Friday, Mr Haas said: “It is time to consider seriously whether human trips to Titanic’s wreck should end in the name of safety, with relatively little remaining to be learned from or about the wreck.

“Crewed submersibles’ roles in surveying the wreck now can be assigned to autonomous underwater vehicles, like those that mapped the ship and its debris field in high-resolution, 3-D detail last summer.

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“The world joins us in expressing our profound sadness and heartbreak about this tragic, avoidable event.”

The Titan was on its third visit to the remains of the ship, having previously made trips to the site in 2021 and 2022.

Dr Newman said it was fairly questionable whether tourist trips to the wreck would result in any “hard research” of the site.

“But at the end of the day, any new information, any new footage is useful, even if it's simply been a case of comparing the same view between 1986 and the current period regarding disintegration of the reconciled slide, so there was always going to be something which could be learned and something beneficial," he said, adding: "But the price this time has simply been too high."

“1,496 people were lost in 1912. And it is a double blow that that number has now increased.”

Unveiling the 'unsinkable'

The RMS Titanic, built by the White Star Line and completed on March 31, 1912, was constructed in Belfast over a span of three years. It was about as long as three football fields.

On April 10, 1912, Titanic embarked on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, stopping at Cherbourg, France and Queenstown, Ireland to pick up additional passengers.

Titanic was filled with more than 2,200 people, including 900 crew members. Passengers of various social statuses journeyed on the ship, some seeking a fresh start in America.

Billed as “Queen of the Ocean” and “unsinkable”, the Titanic's hull was made up of 16 separate sections designed to withstand damage and water intake.

A catastrophic collision with an iceberg late in the voyage tore holes in at least four of the sections, leading to a devastating sink.

A severe shortage of lifeboats, only enough for half of the ship's capacity, led to a hasty and chaotic evacuation, leaving many to jump into the sea.

The RMS Carpathia was the first to respond to Titanic's distress signals but arrived an hour after it had sunk, rescuing about 705 survivors from the lifeboats and transporting them safely to New York.

Interest endures

The disaster sparked a long-standing fascination, partly because, according to Dr Newman, the event was the first large-scale disaster to be covered internationally by the world’s media in real time.

Films, countless books, articles and even a Lego model have focused on the disaster and the resulting wreck, which was discovered in 1985 and has been visited many times.

“The event happened like a film, but in real life,” Dr Newman told The National.

“People make comparisons to the likes of 9/11. It was a game changer and a shocking development that people didn’t really see coming.

“And I think, more broadly, it’s the fact of pride coming before a fall.”