Expedition team makes first manned dive to Titanic in 14 years

A human-occupied submersible had brought an expedition team to the wreck site of RMS Titanic on a series of dives earlier this month as part of the production for an upcoming documentary film about the famed ill-fated passenger ship.

A team led by Rob McCallum of EYOS Expeditions and Victor Vescovo, CEO of Caladan Oceanic, completed a total of five dives in the first manned visits to Titanic‘s final resting place to be carried out since 2005.

The team utilised Limiting Factor, a deep diving submersible built by Triton Submarines of Florida, to examine the remains of the ship, capturing for the first time extraordinary native 4K footage using specially adapted cameras.

Using Limiting Factor‘s camera systems, the team performed dedicated photogrammetry passes on the wreck, allowing highly accurate and photo-realistic 3D models of Titanic to be produced.

These assets will help assess the wreck’s current condition and project its future, as well as make it possible to visualise the wreck using augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology.

The scientists of the expedition will publish the full results alongside the documentary film being made by Atlantic Productions London.

Lying almost 4,000 metres beneath the surface in bitterly cold one degree Celsius water nearly 600 kilometres south of Newfoundland, the wreck has become vulnerable from sweeping eddies and subjected to ever-changing sea currents. Salt corrosion, metal-eating bacteria, and deep current action are having the greatest impact on the wreck.