A team from Five Deeps, an international expedition organised by EYOS Expeditions with a mission to conquer the deepest parts of the five oceans, has descended tothe bottom of the Atlanticat «the Titanic». «Although not originally tasked with such a mission, the explorers set out on their way to the Arctic Ocean's last known point,» to check on the legendary ship, which sank 370 miles south of Newfoundland.
«Titanic» is literally melting: strong and ever-changing Atlantic currents and salt and bacteria are rapidly eating away at the metal.
«This is the first dive anyone has made since our last descent in 2005. No one has seen the Titanic since then. We plan every dive from scratch, and it's a huge honor and responsibility to come back aboard the ship after so many years»," said Rob McCullum, head of EYOS Expeditions.
McCullum also hinted at the not insignificant number of challenges they faced, despite the vast experience of such expeditions.
«The submarine Limiting Factor, built by Triton, dived five times in eight days to a depth of 4,000 meters to the Titanic». The expedition members laid a wreath and held a memorial service for those who perished on that fateful evening in April 1912 - no less than 1,500 people.
Also under the watchful eye of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) representative, 4K resolution video of the shipwreck was shot.
Footage of the dive will be shown in a documentary produced by BAFTA and Atlantic Productions.
«The most exciting aspect of the dive was watching the Titanic being swallowed up by the ocean, becoming a home to an amazingly diverse range of marine life»," says Triton Submarines president Patrick Lahey .
«VictorVescovo, who piloted the bathyscaphe, emphasized that a successful dive to» proved once again that their team has what it takes to conduct these wreck exploration missions - at any depth, anywhere in the world.
