A US billionaire has declared his intention to pay for a submarine trip to the wreck of the Titanic to prove it can be done safely, one year after the OceanGate disaster that killed all five people on board. Larry Connor, a thrill-seeking property tycoon from Ohio, has been to space and to the deepest point of the ocean. His latest expedition will accompany the CEO of Triton Submarines, Patrick Lahey.
The mini submersibles company is on a mission to vindicate the reputation and safety record of deep sea sightseeing. Lahey had previously described the OceanGate submarine as a “monstrosity”, and knew one of the passengers of the ill-fated mission, Paul-Henri Nareolet, personally. “I tried to do everything I could to discourage him from going out there.
I know many people that knew him did the same thing,” he told BOAT magazine. Now the submariner and business owner has a chance to revisit the wreck of the Titanic, in a 4000/2 model two-person submarine alongside Connor. The magnate was dubbed a “thrillionaire” by Forbes, for his expensive taste in adventure.
He has funded trips to the Mariana Trench and was one of the first space tourists to visit the International Space Station in 2022. “You’ve got to be willing to take calculated risk, not stupid risk,” he told the magazine. A post shared by Triton Submarines (@tritonsubmarines) Their vessel, the $30 million Abyssal Explorer, has a safe dive rating of 4000 metres - 200 metres more than is needed to visit the.