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The OceanGate Titan sub accident was one of the most stomach-churning modern testaments to the consequences of hubris. The Titan sub was allegedly riddled with flaws and weaknesses, yet OceanGate's CEO Stockton Rush reportedly brushed off warnings from the experts time and time again. Finally, on June 18, 2023, the Titan disappeared while Rush and several billionaire passengers were riding it down to the wreckage of the Titanic. Rescuers desperately searched for the Titan for days before they discovered its debris. The Titan's weakened hull had imploded shortly after the vessel lost contact with the surface, killing its passengers instantly.
The reputation of the submarine tourism industry has been in shambles since, but now, another billionaire wants to prove that subs can be safe by taking his own trip down to the Titanic. While he's optimistic, many believe that history is about to repeat itself.
Ohio-based billionaire Larry Connor is on a mission to retrace the ill-fated journey of the Titan sub, albeit hopefully with a less disastrous outcome. According to @metrouk , Connor plans to visit the wreck of the Titanic in a $20 million two-person submersible, designed by his co-pilot and co-founder of Triton Subs, Patrick Lahey. According to Triton Subs, their brand-new Triton 4000/2 is designed to withstand depths in excess of 13,000 feet.
Related: Australian Billionaire Wants to 'Recreate the Titanic' and People Have Feelings
By embarking on this underseas journey, Connor and Lahey hope to prove that the submarine tourism industry is "safer" in the aftermath of the OceanGate sub disaster . But with the memory of Stockton Rush's hubris and its consequences still fresh in their minds, many people online had one unified response: "Have we learned nothing?"
"The history book on the shelf, is always repeating itself," sang TikTok viewer @ahonotaru (in perhaps one of the most ominous uses of an ABBA lyric ever).
"OceanGate season 2 before GTA 6," joked @m4atty.r21.
"I think I've seen this film before, and I didn't like the ending," @junghobl mused ominously.
Triton 4000/2 vs. OceanGate Titan
I don't blame people for being skeptical, but it's not like successful submersible trips to the Titanic haven't happened many times before. Just take a look at Titanic director James Cameron, who, according to Business Insider , visited the Titanic 33 times as of June 2023. The real question is, how does the new Triton 4000/2 stack up next to the ill-fated OceanGate Titan?
Triton Subs claims that the 4000/2's colorless acrylic hull is the only one in the world that's commercially certified for dives exceeding 13,000 feet in depth. It also sports a new proprietary "Gull Wing" design, with flaps that can be extended for precise, agile maneuvering during ascent and descent. Its novel design sets it apart from any previous submersible and makes direct comparison to other subs difficult.
However, Triton's reputation speaks volumes. In 2019, a Triton 3600/2 model submersible took an expedition team down into the Mariana Trench on the deepest dive in history, reaching a maximum depth of 10,928 meters/ 35,853 feet. Triton and their subs hold a number of other world record titles , including the Deepest Certified Submersible and the Deepest Dives in the Atlantic, Southern, and Indian Oceans. Through it all, the company's safety record has remained unblemished.
Conversely, the OceanGate Titan's design was controversial from the start. James Cameron , who has designed experimental submersibles himself, heavily criticized the Titan's disastrous design. According to Deadline , Cameron called the Titan's design a " horrible idea ," saying that its carbon composite hull was "completely inappropriate for a vessel that sees external pressure." Other experts have spoken out about other aspects of the sub's fatally-flawed design , including the fact that it was operated by a $30 game controller with a tenuous Bluetooth connection that could easily drop and leave the crew with no way to navigate.
Without context, it's easy to see why so many people think history will repeat itself on Connor and Lahey's dive. However, despite its novel design, the Triton sub seems to have been constructed to far more rigorous standards than the Titan, and by a long-standing company with a stellar reputation. Ultimately, though, only time will tell if Connor and Lahey will successfully prove their point- we'll just have to wait and see.
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