(Web Desk) — Larry Connor, an Ohio billionaire and real estate investor, has announced plans to dive 12,400 feet to the Titanic wreck site, using a $20 million submersible from Triton Submarines. Connor will be joined by Triton co-founder and CEO, Patrick Lahey.
This announcement comes a year after the tragic implosion of OceanGate’s Titan submersible during a similar expedition. In June 2023, OceanGate organized a dive to the Titanic wreck with five people aboard Titan. About an hour and 45 minutes into the dive, contact with the submersible was lost. After a four-day rescue operation, it was confirmed that Titan had imploded, killing all on board, including Pakistani-British businessman Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman, and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.
Despite the disaster, Connor remains undeterred, aiming to demonstrate advancements in deep-sea exploration safety. He emphasized the significance of his upcoming dive, highlighting the robust design of the Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer, which Lahey has been developing for over a decade. Connor believes that modern materials and technology, unavailable just five years ago, now enable the construction of such advanced submersibles.
Connor’s goal is to show the world that the ocean can be “wonderful and enjoyable and really kind of life-changing if you go about it the right way.”
The exact date of Connor and Lahey’s expedition has not yet been disclosed.
