Featured Image Credit: OceanGate
Topics: Titanic, News, World News
Madison Burgess
You'd think that the infamous Oceangate disaster would be enough to put anyone off trying to visit the remains of the Titanic.
However, according to reports, a well-known billionaire is actually gearing up to do an expedition of their own, just two years after the Titan submersible imploded, tragically killing all five people onboard.
For those who need a reminder, American businessman Stockton Rush led a voyage to the wreckage of the RMS Titanic at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in June 2023.
But the sub lost contact with its mothership about 435 miles (700km) south of Newfoundland, Canada, and a rescue mission was subsequently launched.
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As the world waited for answers and hoped the group would be found, it was eventually discovered that the vessel had 'catastrophically imploded', with those inside having been killed immediately.
The fatalities included Rush, explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, businessman Hamish Harding, and Pakistani-British businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman Dawood.
And now, just two months after a documentary about the disaster, Titan: The OceanGate Disaster, aired on Netflix, someone else is said to be planning yet another dangerous mission.
A 'knowledgeable' source told The New York Post: "I heard that somebody is going down to the Titanic in a couple weeks."
They claimed: “What I can tell you is that it’s a billionaire. Going down there will cost $10 million. You would recognise his name.”
However, the source allegedly said they didn't want to spoil who it was, but people are going to find out soon enough. How mysterious.
They added: “He’ll want to make an announcement that he is the first person to go to the Titanic since the tragedy.”
Oceangate, the private company that launched the doomed Titan mission, advertised itself as the first to take tourists to see the Titanic and charged $250,000 per person.
However, judging by reports, it seems that the billionaire in question simply wants to see it for themselves, as the obsession with the ship, which sank in 1912, continues.
Since the shock news broke, people have taken to social media to make their thoughts, or should we say worries, clear.
One Twitter user wrote: "I hope this sub has better safety standards than the first one."
While a second questioned: "What exactly are they expecting to see?" and a third agreed: "They really want to take a risk."
A third, bluntly penned: "Just pure stupidity and people never learn. If I was rich, I would be chilling in a nice Oceanside Villa in Hawaii, someplace on a beautiful beach.
"Not risking my life and going down to disturb the remains of all those poor souls who lost their lives on that ship."
Meanwhile, another questioned: "The Titanic is not that cool. Literally why do rich people care this much?"
As for who the billionaire is, I guess we'll have to wait and see!