Would You Visit the Titanic?

You are huddled inside a tiny vessel. You know you’re in the ocean, but you might as well be in outer space. All you can see through the small window is inky darkness. Still, you stare intently into the abyss, your heart thumping with anticipation.

Then the lights of your vessel cast an eerie glow on a ghostly structure: the bow of a ship.

You are looking at the wreck of one of the most legendary ships of all time, the RMS Titanic.

In June 2020, this experience will become a reality, thanks to the deep-sea exploration company OceanGate Inc. Customers will climb into the company’s special boat—known as a deep-sea submersible. Then they will descend more than 12,000 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean to explore the famous shipwreck. At press time, 30 people had already signed up to go.

Would you want to join them?

The Titanic first set sail on April 10, 1912. At the time, it was the biggest, most luxurious, most technologically advanced ship ever built. Many believed it was unsinkable.

Then, on April 14, only four days into its maiden voyage, the Titanic slammed into an iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The iceberg ripped through the ship, leaving giant gashes in its side.

Water gushed in. And three hours later, the Titanic sank. Some 1,500 people went to their deaths in the frigid waters of the Atlantic. The tragedy made headlines around the world.

Today, the story of the Titanic still captivates us. Countless books, plays, and movies have been inspired by the ship and its tragic demise. Google “Titanic,” and you get some 100 million hits.

For many, a close encounter with such an iconic piece of history would be an extraordinary experience. To date, only 200 people have seen the wreck up close. That’s fewer than the number of people who have gone to space.

But not everyone is thrilled with the idea of turning the Titanic into a tourist destination. Some say it’s not respectful to those who died.

Back in 2012, when another company was considering taking tourists down to the wreck, Edward Kamuda, then president of the Titanic Historical Society, spoke out. In an interview with National Geographic, he said, “To us, it’s a gravesite—why disturb it any further?”

Others don’t see visiting the Titanic as disrespectful. In fact, many see it as a way to honor those who died by keeping their stories alive. “For us, it’s really about preserving a piece of history,” says Dana Hall, a spokesperson for OceanGate.

Besides, OceanGate plans to do more than take people down to ogle the Titanic and take selfies. During each trip, the OceanGate crew will collect scientific data about the wreck. Passengers will get to help, taking photos and videos and even operating the sonar (a device that detects objects underwater).

But some historians worry about the inadvertent damage that these kinds of expeditions can cause. Take the Titanic’s crow’s nest, a tall structure that was used as a lookout. It’s gone missing, possibly after having been knocked loose by a submersible in the early 2000s. Hall says there is no reason for any damage to occur during OceanGate’s dives, though, because they won’t be touching the wreck.

Plus, there is something far more harmful than submersibles threatening the Titanic : bacteria. Right now, these tiny organisms are slowly eating away at the parts of the ship made of iron. Eventually, the iron will become so corroded that the wreck will collapse and be buried by sand.

Scientists estimate that the Titanic could disappear within 20 years. Signing up for OceanGate’s expedition could be the last chance to see the ship before it is gone forever.

If seeing the Titanic isn’t reason enough to get a ticket for the OceanGate expedition, consider this: You also get the chance to explore the ocean. The deep ocean is home to dozens of strange and fascinating creatures—fish with see-through heads and squid that glow in the dark. You might even catch a glimpse of a creature that has never been seen before. After all, only about 5 percent of the deep ocean has been explored.

Then again, the deep sea is an unforgiving place. Outside the protection of a submersible, the deep ocean is pitch-black and nearly freezing. At such depths, the pressure of the water is so great that a person would be crushed in seconds.

Hall says there is no reason to worry though. According to OceanGate, there hasn’t been a fatal incident on a privately owned submersible since 1974.

Whether or not the trip is safe, there is no denying that it is expensive: a whopping $105,000 per person. To some, the steep price just isn’t worth it. (That amount of money could feed 10 families of four for a year.)

But to others, the chance to see the Titanic—and to visit a part of our world that is usually unreachable—is a priceless opportunity.

So what do you think? Are you ready to journey down into the abyss? 

This play was originally published in the October 2019 issue