Tag Archives: OceanGate Expeditions

Titanic

Titanic News-Wedding Plans Disrupted and Studying Titanic Wreck Ecosystem

  1. Wedding Plans Disrupted When Fiancée Does Not Want Titanic Wedding
Croquembouch wedding cake
Photo:Eric Baker(Wikipedia)

I do often see news reports of Titanic themed weddings so often that I hardly take notice of them anymore. Some are more extravagant than others certainly catches the eye. But what happens with the person you are marrying is not keen on the idea?

‘My fiance won’t speak to me because I’ve said I don’t want Titanic-themed wedding’ (Daily Mirror, 25 Jan 2022)

Unfortunately, one groom-to-be has been left feeling conflicted after his fiance expressed a longing for their nuptials to be themed around the classic romantic tearjerker, Titanic. The fiance is said to be ‘obsessed’ with the movie, while he doesn’t really care for it all that much. Taking to Reddit’s AmITheA**hole forum, the 23-year-old groom revealed that his fiance wanted to go all out for the theme, decorating an old hall like the Titanic dining room, with absolutely everything themed around Titanic or the 1910s. As well as an iceberg wedding cake – arguably a rather morbid feature given the historical basis of the film – the fiance wants their first dance to be to the sound of Celine Dion weepie, My Heart Will Go On.

Titanic Wreck Bow
Image: Public Domain (NOAA-http://www.gc.noaa.gov/images/gcil/ATT00561.jpg)

2. OceanGate To Study Titanic wreak ecosystem

Those who have visited the wreck have noted that nature has adapted itself to the wreck in interesting ways. And now OceanGate plans to make that a serious study before the wreck is totally consumed by the Atlantic Ocean.

Titanic Expedition Chief Scientist, Steve W. Ross, PhD., Spearheads First-Ever Effort to Study the Marine Ecosystem of the Iconic Titanic Wreck Site (PR News, 18 Jan 2022

OceanGate Expeditions announces that Dr. Steve W. Ross, Research Professor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, will be the Chief Scientist of the 2022 Titanic Survey Expedition. Dr. Ross will lead a team of accomplished scientists in a first-of-its-kind survey of the marine ecosystems on and near the Titanic. The wreck of the Titanic, sitting at 3,800 meters on a barren abyssal plain, serves as a refuge for life forms like corals, squat lobsters, brittle stars, and rattail fish. The scientific team will utilize the 5-crewmember Titan submersible as a research platform to observe and record the deep dwelling sea life.


Titanic

Titanic News:Staying at Titanic Hotel, Cost of seeing Titanic Wreck Goes Up, Stories of Women Who Stayed on Titanic

 

Titanic House (former Harland and Wolff Drawing Offices) now Titanic Hotel, Queens Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland, March 2012
Photo:Ardfern(Wikimedia Commons)

An Immersive Staycation At The Titanic Hotel And Museum (RTE, 27 Nov 2021)

It can be easy to forget that we live on the same island that once produced the largest moving object ever made by man, that generations of Harland & Wolff workers forged Belfast’s reputation as the engineering capital of the world, and that its most famous ship – the Titanic – would go on to inspire the first film to break the billion-dollar mark at the box office. So it’s fitting that the Titanic Hotel and visitor attraction in Belfast was a world-leading tourist destination before they opened their doors, in 2017 and 2012 respectively.

==

Titanic: Explorers Set To Fork Out $250,000 To Visit Shipwreck Site (Belfast Live, 25 N0v 2021)

A new expedition to the wreck of the Titanic has been announced for summer 2022, but it comes at a hefty price. Only around 250 people have glimpsed the wreckage since it was discovered on the seabed in 1985, but a small group will make the epic two-mile journey to the site on the ocean floor next year. Oceangate Expeditions, which offers underwater expeditions across the world, has announced its second annual trip to the ship’s final resting place. It will see ‘mission specialists,’ along with researchers, survey the vessel up close from inside the company’s submersible Titan. The group of citizen explorers will travel 12,500ft beneath the North Atlantic Ocean to survey the famous Belfast-built liner that sank in April 1912. The Titanic Expedition is conducted as a series of eight-day missions in May and June but each seat now costs $250,000 – a $125,000 increase on last year.

==

Who Are The Two Old Women Who Refused To Separate While The Titanic Sank? The Two Also Existed In Real Life (OiCanadian.com, 24 Nov 2021)

At the same time, they were the source of inspiration for the story of the movie “Titanic”, and their image, from the movie, where they appear embraced on the bed, waiting for the end of life, has been taken over and reimagined since the film’s release. Along with other notable passengers, such as John Jacob Astor IV and Molly Brown, Isidor and Ida Straus embarked aboard the Titanic on April 10, 1912, bound for New York.

==

Interesting  Photo of Titanic Quarter from Jason McIntosh


Titanic

Titanic News for Thanksgiving Day

Press Release: Titanic Expedition Announced For Summer 2022; Oceangate Expeditions To Return To The Site 110 Years After The Ship’s Sinking (WFMZ, 23 Nov 2021)

OceanGate Expeditions announces its second annual expedition to the wreck of the Titanic, the 2022 Titanic Expedition. OceanGate Expeditions will charter the Cyclops-class carbon fiber and titanium submersible, Titan, to carry crewmembers to the historic maritime heritage site which sits at 3,800 meters on the floor of the North Atlantic Ocean. Citizen explorers, trained as Mission Specialists, will join a cadre of archaeologists, marine biologists, and Titanic experts on the second annual expedition to study and document the Titanic in more detail than ever before. The Titan submersible is outfitted with the latest camera technologies to capture ultra-high-resolution imagery that will help determine the wreck’s rate of decay and assess the marine life that dwell on the wreck.

==

 

Collapsible lifeboat D photographed by passenger on Carpathia on the morning of 15 April 1912.
Public Domain(Wikipedia)

Mortician Reveals What Actually Happened To Titanic’s Dead Passengers (Mirror, 22 Nov 2021)

Firstly, she looked at CS Mackay-Bennett, a recovery boat that ended up finding the majority of the victims of the tragedy. She continued: “The recovery boat didn’t leave Nova Scotia until three days after the wreckage and didn’t arrive at the site until a full week later. By this time, bodies had scattered and been exposed to the elements like sea life and birds, so the men didn’t find pristine preserved corpses floating on the surface.” According to Caitlin, many of the bodies did cluster together “like a flock of seagulls in their white life jackets”. The first day, they recovered 51 bodies, and in total, the Mackay-Bennett recovered 306 bodies. She continued: “Another boat recovered 17, another boat recovered three, yet another boat recovered three people in a lifeboat a month later over 200 miles away.” Because of this, it would be impossible to figure out how many people sank to the bottom of the ocean or floated away.

==

Relative Of Titanic Boss Who Supposedly Abandoned Women And Children To Drown Insists He Was ‘No Coward’ (My London, 21 Nov 2021)

They belong to Bruce’s grandson whom Clifford visited and spoke to at his home in Scotland – and, he says, they tell a very different story about this so-called cowardly man. One thing they redress is the criticism Bruce received for resigning from the White Star Line after the disaster “Documents show Bruce had actually planned to retire before Titanic sailed and had found a successor in Harold Sanderson,” says Clifford. “Also he wanted to give up the presidency of International Mercantile Marine Company – the White Star’s American parent company – but actually continue as chairman of the White Star Line, but the remaining directors didn’t want him to remain as chair in the end.” Clifford explains he hadn’t really wanted to be president of IMM in the first place and only accepted the post reluctantly after his colleagues persuaded him. So it wasn’t as if he had jumped ship after the disaster like a coward.

==

Titanic Pump-House To Become Whiskey Distillery And Tourist Attraction (Belfast Live, 17 Nov 21)

The historic Titanic pump-house is set to become a whiskey distillery and new tourist attraction. Titanic Distillers have been given the green light for the redevelopment of the listed building by Belfast City Council planning committee. Based in the heart of the Titanic Quarter, it first opened in 1911 alongside its neighbouring dock and the distillery will also feature a visitors attraction so that people will be able to see the authentic Titanic landmark. Titanic Distillers Director Richard Irwin, said the company was excited that the application had been approved.

==

Why The Shipyards That Built The Titanic Still Influence Belfast (National Geographic, 16 Nov 2021)

Now, a hundred years since Northern Ireland was born, this industrial site has been transformed into one of the country’s main tourism draws, home to the Titanic Belfast attraction and several historic maritime sites. The slipways where the Titanic was built are now a top outdoor performance venue in Belfast, which has just been awarded UNESCO City of Music status in recognition of its dynamic live music scene. The yards also grace the big screen in Kenneth Branagh’s new movie, Belfast, inspired by his childhood here during the turbulent 1960s.

And for your Thanksgiving Day. Here is an excerpt from the now infamous Turkey Drop episode of WKRP.


Titanic

Clive Palmer has his own “Titanic” super yacht, Diver takes pictures of Britannic, Titanic submersible on tour

Deep diving photographer Rick Ayrton took some haunting photos of the Britannic wreck. One of the three legendary ships built by Harland & Wolff (Olympic, Titanic and Brittanic), Britannic had been converted to a hospital ship during World War I. Sadly she was sunk on 12 Nov 1916 in Greek coastal waters probably by a German mine. There are those who think it was a torpedo or sabotage, but there are no records of a German u-boat sinking the ship. As for sabotage, it makes for great mystery novels but not much else. Dives to the wreck have shown that it was likely a German mine that sank the ship.

Source:

Diver captures haunting images of Titanic’s sunken sister ship, lost 105 years ago (New York Post, 25 Oct 2021)

==

Image: OceanGate

On the heels of their successful Titanic dive, OceanGate is sending out the submersible used to go down and view the wreck on tour. Not only can you see it, but go inside to view videos and films of their recent exploration. Pretty neat looking submersible and amazing how much has changed in that area. From old fashioned diving bells to now, the technology is quite amazing.

Source:

Submersible vessel that explored the Titanic coming to Greenwich, and guests can go inside (Greenwich Time, 22 Oct 2021)

==

Photo:Benjamin J MacDonald

I suppose that if your dream of Titanic II appears stuck for the moment, then why not splurge on a $40 million super yacht with all the accessories of a large cruise ship. It includes:

  • owners suite with office, walk-in wardrobe and private bathroom
  • two sundecks
  • outdoor and indoor bar
  • jacuzzi
  • VIP suite with bridge deck views
  • 10-person formal dining room

Clive Palmer is apparently known for having parties on yachts, but this takes it to a new level. At 56 meters, it is certainly the largest yacht afloat and moored in the Brisbane River. It makes other yachts look like dinghies.

Source:

Inside mining tycoon Clive Palmer’s new $40million superyacht ‘Australia’ (SuperYachting, 18 Oct 2021)


Titanic

Titanic Exhibit Increases Hours, Man Learns Father’s Titanic Connection; OceanGate Ready for Dive

 

Titanic Memorial, Washington D.C.(1940)
Photo: Public Domain(U.S.Library of Congress, Harris & Ewing Collection)

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition Announces Attraction Now Open Daily (Clickorlando.com, 31 May 2021)

Officials at Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition announced the Orlando attraction is expanding operations and will now be open daily. The attraction is located along International Drive and allows guests to step back in time to 1912 to see more than 300 artifacts and historical items, a full-scale room replica and the “Little Big Piece,” a 3-ton section of the original ship’s hull.

Wisconsin Man Learns Of Late Father’s Titanic Tie Through New Documentary(Spectrum News I, 31 May 2021)

Fong said his dad had him when he was 65-years-old, and his father never spoke about his journey aboard the ill-fated ship. But other family members through the years made mentions of a harrowing survival from a shipwreck. Through dates, data and corroborating DNA, the new documentary “The Six,” created with executive producer James Cameron, tells the true story of six Chinese men rescued from the unsinkable vessel. Fong said his dad and the other five didn’t understand the third class member instructions to stay in their barracks and took another way to the top of the ship where they escaped.

Oceangate Gets Its Titan Sub Ready To Begin Expedition To Titanic Shipwreck (Geek Wire, 28 May 2021)

Those 11 years haven’t all been about the Titanic: OceanGate has been regularly sending its submersibles into the depths of waters ranging from Seattle’s Elliott Bay and the Salish Sea to New York’s Hudson Canyon and the Andrea Doria’s resting place off the Massachusetts coast. But diving down to the fabled ocean liner that sank in the North Atlantic in 1912 has been OceanGate’s focus for the past several years. That’s why the company built the Titan submersible, using titanium and carbon fiber, and then rebuilt it when the first vessel wasn’t deemed strong enough to stand up to the pressure of a 12,500-foot-deep (4,000-meter-deep) dive.

 


Titanic

Mystery of Titanic Letter In Bottle, Novel on Forgotten Chinese Passengers, Update on OceanGate

 

March 6, 1912: Titanic (right) had to be moved out of the drydock so her sister Olympic (left), which had lost a propeller, could have it replaced.
Robert John Welch (1859-1936), official photographer for Harland & Wolff
Public domain

Message In Bottle ‘Thrown From Titanic Hours Before Sinking’ Baffles Scientists (Mirror, 12 May 2021)

Mathilde, three of her siblings and their mother, Marie, were never seen again, but 105 years later a note apparently signed by Mathilde was found on a Canadian beach. “The bottle could be the first Titanic artifact found on the American coast,” said historian Maxime Gohier. Now scientists are probing the mysterious document, in a bid to prove whether it’s the real thing, or an elaborate hoax.

 OceanGate Expeditions Announces Medical Team for Inaugural Titanic Survey Expedition (Goskakit.com, 12 May 2021) (Press Release)

“In recruiting our expedition medical team, we prioritized identifying medical professionals accustomed to working in austere and unpredictable situations like those faced in expeditionary environments. This veteran team of emergency physicians brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our Mission Specialists and crewmembers,” says Stockton Rush, President, OceanGate Expeditions. “We will continue to follow strict COVID-19 protocols that we used throughout two Fall 2020 expeditions with zero resulting COVID-19 cases. In addition, the expedition vessel, Horizon Arctic, has a medical center for onboard care,” says Rush.

The Forgotten Chinese Passengers of the Titanic Inspired This New Novel (Yahoo News, 12 May 2021)

Here was an opportunity to bring attention to a story that had not yet been told. Here was a chance to show others the far-reaching effects of the Chinese Exclusion Act, an act that from 1882-1943, prohibited Chinese from coming to the United States. For that is the reason you have likely never heard about these men. Every Titanic survivor—705 in all—was allowed entry into the United States without question and given aid and medical relief. After all, all papers and money had been lost in the catastrophe. But not the Chinese. They were sent away within 24 hours of arriving in New York, simply on the basis of race.


Titanic

Monday Titanic News

A sure sign spring is here is when lambs appear.
Spring Lamb In The Sunshine
Photo: Tanya Hall/publicdomainpictures.net

Welcome to Spring everyone! For those of you down under, Happy Autumn. Here are some news stories you may find of interest.

The story of the Sunderland man who survived the Titanic disaster thanks to a game of cards (Sunderland Echo, 21 Mar 2021)

One of the very many stories to be told in its aftermath, is that of a glass worker from Sunderland who was one of the lucky survivors. Had Charles Whilems gone to bed earlier on that fateful night he would never have been heard of again

Fact Check-J.P. Morgan did not sink the Titanic to push forward plans for the U.S. Federal Reserve (Reuters, 17 Mar 2021)

A widely-shared meme has taken several facts about the Titanic out of context to  make unsubstantiated claims that imply the ship’s sinking was a deliberate act. This is not true – experts widely agree the sinking of the Titanic was an accident. The meme was posted?to Facebook?on March 1 and has been shared more than 600 times. It consists of two images: one of the ship and a  second of American financier John Pierpont (J.P.) Morgan. These sit alongside a wall of text that suggests Morgan had motive to sink the Titanic?because it was hosting three powerful people who opposed his idea for a centralised banking system, ie: the U.S.?Federal Reserve.

NASA Astronaut and Physician, Dr. Scott Parazynski to Join Titanic Survey Expedition (KHQ.com, 16 Mar 2021 (via PR Newswire)

“Challenging environments are incredible catalysts for innovation,” shares Dr. Scott Parazynski. “Being part of the inaugural expeditionary team for the Titanic Survey Expedition with my friend and colleague, Stockton Rush, is an amazing opportunity. I am looking forward to working with the OceanGate Expeditions team to demonstrate the cutting edge submersible technology that has the power to change the way humans explore our deep oceans, understand our planet, and investigate other planets. Our home planet is extraordinary, and my bucket list will get an additional check mark as part of this ground-breaking OceanGate expedition,” says Parazynski.

Why Was Utah’s Only Titanic Passenger Not Among The Survivors?(Salt Lake Magazine, 15 Mar 2021)

Pulling a treasured artifact from her purse, Liz holds the postcard up against an enlarged copy displayed prominently on one wall. Dated April 1, 1912, the card bears an illustration of London’s Piccadilly Circus on one side and Irene’s gracefully sloping scrawl on the back with her ill-fated words, “Finish London soon—am going to sail on one of the biggest ships afloat: the Titanic, an American Liner.” This was the last dispatch from 30-year-old Irene, the only Utahn aboard the RMS Titanic. She drowned with more than 1,500 passengers hours after the liner struck an iceberg in the early hours of April 15, 1912 sinking to the ocean floor in the frigid north Atlantic on its way from Southampton to New York.


Titanic

SATURDAY TITANIC NEWS

Harold Bride, April 1912
Encyclopedia Titanica(via Wikimedia)

The First To Use SOS Signal: Titanic Radio Officer Honoured At Former Perthshire Home (The Courier, 23 Oct 2020)

Harold Bride – who lived in Scone for a decade – is often named as the first person to use the SOS signal in operational circumstances. A blue plaque was unveiled in his memory on Thursday afternoon at his former home on Mansfield Road, by the Scone and District Historical Society The house is now owned by George Stewart, one of the society’s members.

OceanGate Expeditions Annouces Citizen Scientist Submersible Dives to the Titanic in 2021 (PR Web, 13 Oct 2020)

OceanGate Expeditions today announced the Titanic Survey Expedition 2021 with the world’s onlly 5-crewmember manned submersible able to reach Titanic depths. Submersible owner and operator, OceanGate Inc., has agreed to charter its Cyclops-class submersible, Titan, to transport Titanic expedition experts and researchers, along with citizen scientists trained as Mission Specialists, on a series of deep-sea research missions. Each of the six 10-day missions will give up to nine qualified citizen scientists a once in a lifetime opportunity to explore and experience this historic memorial site

TItanic Book Store

Titanic

Titanic News for January 12, 2020

Titanic Exhibit at Luxor in Las Vegas Adds 108 New Artifacts (Las Vegas Review Journal, 11 Jan 2020-Subscription Required)

Titanic Presentation In Oak Forest Explores The Irish Experience Aboard The Ship (Daily Southtown, 10 Jan 2020)

After presenting the Titanic: Irish Ship, Irish Experience in September at the Irish American Heritage Center in Chicago, McCann contacted Chicago Gaelic Park about bringing the multimedia presentation there. “I go over the roots of the Titanic especially being built in Belfast, Ireland. I also talk about how the Titanic impacted society before and after. The Irish ties of the Titanic are massively overlooked and are not talked about enough,” she said. “The audience that I’m reaching probably already knows that the Titanic was built in Belfast and has Irish roots but it goes a lot deeper than that. It’s something that is overshadowed by the tragic event that happened.”

Vegas’ Titanic Exhibit In Las Vegas Adding 108 New Artifacts (10news.com, 10 Jan 2020)

The new artifacts include 20 never-before-seen items that have been under careful preservation since being recovered from the ocean floor and 102 items that have never been on display in the Las Vegas exhibition. In addition, the exhibit will be “refreshed” throughout, including the addition of new technologies and a photo station where visitors will be able to pose with prop lifejackets from a major motion picture. For the first time ever, visitors will be able to take personal photos beginning Jan. 13, 2020. Additional enhancements to the Exhibition will be made throughout spring 2020 and soon, the Exhibition will be able to host private events and receptions.

Oceangate Raises $18M To Build A Bigger Submersible Fleet And Set Up Titanic Trips (Geekwire, 9 Jan 2020)

OceanGate says it has raised $18.1 million in new investment, laying the financial groundwork for an expansion of its fleet of deep-sea submersibles and setting the stage for dives to the 108-year-old Titanic shipwreck in 2021. The funding round was reported in documents filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission. OceanGate CEO and founder Stockton Rush said the figure reported in the documents, $19.3 million, would be amended to reflect the actual size of the round. He declined to identify the investors, other than to say that “it was 100% insiders.”

Titanic

Titanic news to Start the new year

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year celebration. To get the year off, here is some Titanic news for your consideration.

Shutterstock

The Titanic’s Forgotten Sister (Forbes, 1 Jan 2019)
Olympic’s story illustrates an important lesson that technologies generally evolve gradually and not in sudden spurts. As Henry Petroski reminds us, engineers learn from failure and innovate to avoid making mistakes in the future. From the sinking of the Titanic, naval architects learned how to properly design watertight compartments, company managers realized the business value in having fancier staterooms and of course, everyone saw the necessity of having more lifeboats, safety drills and radio communications. Olympic, in large measure, was only able to have a long and successful career because her owners and captains had learned from the loss of her younger sister.
Source:https://www.forbes.com/sites/berniecarlson/2019/01/01/the-titanics-forgotten-sister/#3e3bad942706

Book Your Place For The Last Chance To See The Titanic Shipwreck (Forbes, 31 Dec 2018)
And now, more than a century after her sinking, the Titanic is about to welcome new guests courtesy of OceanGate’s Titanic Survey Expedition, conducting six missions to the wreck between June and August 2019 in its appropriately named Titan submersible. And while such expeditions are usually reserved for experts and researchers, OceanGate has opened up its invitation to regular citizen explorers like you and me.
Source:https://www.forbes.com/sites/duncanmadden/2018/12/31/book-your-place-for-the-last-chance-to-see-the-titanic-shipwreck/#20eaee4537ca

‘Night to Remember’ featured Titanic survivor from Alabama (AdvanceLocal-Alabama,21 Dec 2018)
As the ship slipped under, Gracie jumped into the frigid water, eventually managing to cling to an overturned collapsible lifeboat until he was rescued and taken aboard the Carpathia. He was traumatized and injured, however; his body covered with cuts and bruised. He never fully recovered from the ordeal and died in Dec. 4, 1912. Before he died, he completed a rough manuscript of a book of his experiences called “The Truth about the Titanic.” It was published in 1913.Gracie IV is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in New York. His headstone is etched with the words “Hero of the S.S. Titanic.”
Source:https://www.al.com/alabama/2018/12/night-to-remember-featured-titanic-survivor-from-alabama.html

https://youtu.be/iJ-ZU1QBkHY