2m ago / 8:30 AM UTC
Titanic tour firm offered up-close experience for $250,000
Modern in-person tourism at the Titanic is still in its infancy. The submersible that disappeared Sunday near the Titanic wreckage was on only its third trip since the company OceanGate Expeditions began offering them in 2021.
OceanGate had been promoting the third dive for months on its website and in Facebook posts, offering the chance to “follow in Jacques Cousteau’s footsteps and become an underwater explorer” — for the price of $250,000.
“Become one of the few to see the Titanic with your own eyes,” the tour company said on its website. The ticket comes with a title: “mission specialist.”
Participants have included a chef, an actor, a videographer and someone who worked in banking, the company said on Facebook. One of the customers said on Instagram last year that it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that lived up to her expectations.
6m ago / 8:26 AM UTC
First full-size scan showed Titanic wreck as never seen before
Few people will ever get the opportunity to survey the wreckage of the Titanic up close — a bid that was at the heart of Sunday’s mission when the Titan vessel went missing.
The first first full-size digital scan of the Titanic recently revealed the world’s most famous shipwreck as never seen before, however, and experts are hopeful it will provide more insight into how the liner came to sink in 1912.
26m ago / 8:06 AM UTC
What we know about missing billionaire Hamish Harding
Hamish Harding, a billionaire and the owner and chairman of Action Aviation, is among the five people onboard the missing vessel.
Action Aviation, established in 2004, is described on its website as a global sales company in business aviation.
A post Sunday on Harding’s Instagram account said he was joining OceanGate’s expedition “as a mission specialist” — typically a one-time crew member who pays a fee to join the effort.
“Due to the worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023,” Harding said in his post. He said that a “weather window” had just opened up and that the team was going to attempt a dive the following day.
“Until then we have a lot of preparations and briefings to do,” he said.
26m ago / 8:06 AM UTC
Pakistani businessman and son were onboard vessel, family says
A prominent Pakistani businessman, Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman, were among the five people onboard the vessel when it went missing, one of his companies said Tuesday.
“We are very grateful for the concern being shown by our colleagues and friends and would like to request everyone to pray for their safety,” the company said in a statement.
Hamish Harding, the billionaire owner and chairman of Action Aviation, was previously identified as one of the missing crew members.
The other two people who were onboard the vessel have yet to be identified.
26m ago / 8:06 AM UTC
Search continues for missing Titanic tour submersible
The U.S. Coast Guard continues its search on Tuesday for the missing submersible that disappeared Sunday after it departed for a mission to explore the wreck of the Titanic.
The 21-foot submersible and its five-person crew started a dive Sunday morning from the Canadian research vessel Polar Prince, the Coast Guard said. But the Polar Prince lost contact with the vessel after an hour and 45 minutes and it remains missing.
The missing submersible — named Titan, according to The Associated Press — is part of a tour offered by private company OceanGate Expeditions exploring the Titanic wreckage, 900 nautical miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
