Larry Connor, a luxury real estate billionaire and adventurer from the US state of Ohio, and Patrick Lahey, a deep-sea explorer and one of the founders of Triton Submarines, plan to explore the wreck of the Titanic in a submarine. Exactly one year since the tragic collapse of OceanGate's Titan brought a collective pause to deep sea diving on the RMS Titanic.
The resulting submarine, which Connor christened The Explorer—Return to the Titanic, takes design cues from the Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer. This 15-foot-long vessel features a hydrodynamic silhouette, acrylic hull and 10-foot folding wings, allowing it to reach depths of 4,000 meters, Triton reports. The Titanic is at a depth of 3,800 meters.
"The trip takes less than two hours, much faster than was possible before.
The 4000/2 model has different types of cruise that will allow it to quickly rise to the surface when needed and also operates in 'glide mode' to ensure it does not disturb sensitive underwater ecosystems. The three-meter extended wings on both sides of the submarine will be equipped with lights to allow close inspection and filming.
It will be designed by the summer of 2026 and is said to be the first acrylic-hulled submarine to reach such depths.
The Titan explosion was the first catastrophic submarine disaster in 60 years, but it created a global media frenzy that may have instilled a fear of deep-sea diving in the public. "I worry that people associate scuba diving, especially with new or different submarines, with danger or tragedy," Connor explained.
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