The wreck of the Titanic does not sleep peacefully”
More than a century has passed since the day the Titanic slept forever in the heart of the Atlantic Ocean at a depth of more than 3,800 meters. People still can’t stop talking about the “ship of destiny”.
On April 10, 1912, the first departure from Southampton port (UK) was expected to arrive in New York (USA). At that time, the upper class had to spend a lot of money for a first class ticket.
However, just 4 days after departure, the Titanic crashed. After crashing into the iceberg, less than 3 hours later, the legendary ship sank into the sea about 600km from the island of Newfoundland in Canada.
Due to a lack of lifeboats and no experience in emergency rescue. emergency so only about 700 people were saved. Most of them are women and children. The accident claimed the lives of more than 1,500 passengers and crew.
For more than a hundred years, the dream of discovering the legendary ship at sea The nearest cup is always what many people long for.
Today, most of the public can only satisfy their curiosity by visiting museums and exhibitions to see related collections. related to shipwrecks located in many places around the world. Only a few of them can afford the adventurous trip to dive into the deep sea to see the “corpse” directly.
Although the Titanic sank in 1912, it was not until 1985 that oceanographer Robert Ballard led the expedition to discover it. its “resting place” appears.
In July 1986, he placed a sign on the ship with the request “not to disturb the scene” to show respect and remembrance of the more than 1,500 victims who remained forever.
However, this did not happen. Instead, a competition emerged over who would be allowed to salvage artifacts from the ship. Partly it was an effort to preserve the artifacts, but mostly it was about making huge profits.
For example, the RMS Titanic company made eight successful expeditions to the ship. Titanic salvaged part of the ship’s grand staircase and auctioned more than 5,000 antiques.
A lucrative “gold mine” for companies travel adventure exploitation
< p>While the battle for the right to “visit” and salvage broke out, the scuba diving activity to see the Titanic’s body also existed for more than 20 years, creating a small but super expensive tourism market.
It is considered a “lucrative” gold mine in the adventure tourism industry.
In 1998, the British company Deep Ocean Expeditions was considered one of the first companies to sell tickets to tourists. guests for 32,500 USD/person to see “the remains of the Titanic”.
In 2012 expedition leader Rob McCallum said the company organized its final tour after descending to the wreck 197 times. These last trips took place in 2012 for $59,000 per person. Each tour accepts a maximum of 20 guests.
Similarly, starting in 2002, the Bluefish travel company based in Los Angeles (USA) also operates a scuba diving trip to approach the Titanic. In the next 4 years, the company only received 8 customers. In 2012, Bluefish welcomed guests back with a ticket price of 59,680 USD/person.
Another company, Blue Marble based in London, sold tickets for 105,129 USD/person in 2019. This company also cooperated with OceanGate Expeditions to organize an adventure tour.
Afterwards OceanGate Expeditions continue to enter this “fertile market” and have successful trips. Until June 18, the Titan ship operated by this company carried 5 people who were confirmed to have died on the way to the Titanic’s body.
Protecting the 111-year-old ship
Protect the 111-year-old ship
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Experts believe that these trips had a great impact on the Titanic, causing its deterioration to occur faster. Less than a decade after the wreck was found, its rapid deterioration was noticed. In 2019, an expedition showed that most of the ship was collapsing.
Even if the submarines did not touch the Titanic’s body, it still caused an impact that made the ship worse. Faced with this situation, Mr. Charles Haas, President of the International Titanic Association, declared that it was time to consider “ending all tours of the Titanic’s wreck” after the disaster with the Titan submersible.
Also according to Mr. Charles The Titanic had “5 more victims” after 111 years of sinking. He also expressed his “infinite” condolences to French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet and commented that this was an expert with extensive knowledge and experience about the Titanic that was “irreplaceable”.</ p>”
