(BrightPress.org) – Seventy-four-year-old Larry Connor, a real estate investor from Dayton Ohio, said he intends to partner with Patrick Lahey, a deep sea explorer and co-founder of Triton Submarines, to show the world that deep-sea submersible vehicle expeditions can be done safely.
The two teamed up only a few days after a failed expedition where the Titan, a submersible with five people on board, imploded while diving to explore the remains of the Titanic. All five passengers were killed, including Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate, the company that built the vessel. Connor reached out to Lahey five days after the incident suggesting the two of them partner to build a better and safer submersible vehicle.
Connor and Lahey intend to descend to more than 12,400 feet below sea level to view the wreckage of the Titanic. They will make the journey in a two-person, $20 million submersible called the Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer. According to the company website, the new sub is designed specifically for “professional applications,” and can dive to 4,000 meters below sea level. The sub is certified for a depth of 13,000 feet which should allow it to reach the Titanic wreckage, which sits at about 12,500 feet underwater. The Titan was only certified for a range of 1,300 meters or about 4,265 feet.
Connor and Lahey, both sticklers for adventure, say they want to prove they have constructed a vessel that can “repeatedly and safely” make deep underwater journeys.
Connor and Lahey have previously traveled together to 36,000 feet below the surface to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Lahey was only the second Canadian to ever make that dive.
Lahey has been working on creating safe submersible vehicles for more than ten years but claims the materials and technology haven’t been available until now.
Connor attracted the media’s attention in 2022 when he paid to fly to the International Space Station.
The partners have not released a date for their underwater expedition.
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