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Hopes high as first Titanic voyage in 14 years happens in wake of submersible tragedy

The Dino Chouest, an offshore supply ship, is docked at the Port of Providence, Wednesday, July 10, 2024, in Providence, R.I. The vessel is to be part of an expedition by Georgia-based firm RMS Titanic, Inc., to the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, the British ocean liner that sank in April of 1912. The expedition is to use modern imaging technology and remotely operated vehicles to capture detailed images of the Titanic, the wreckage site and the debris field, RMST Inc. representatives said. (AP/File)
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Updated 14 July 2024
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Hopes high as first Titanic voyage in 14 years happens in wake of submersible tragedy

  • The voyage arrives as undersea explorers are still reeling from the deadly implosion of an experimental submersible en route to the Titanic in June 2023
  • The Titan submersible disaster killed all five people on board, including Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who was director of underwater research for RMS Titanic
Updated 14 July 2024
AP

PORTLAND: The company that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic is undertaking its first expedition to the ship’s wreckage in years, and those involved in the mission said they have both heavy hearts and lofty goals for a trip happening a year after a submersible disaster involving another firm killed five people.
RMS Titanic Inc., a Georgia-based firm, holds the legal rights to salvage the wreck of the ship, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912. The company’s first expedition to the site since 2010 launched Friday from Providence, Rhode Island.
The voyage arrives as the worldwide community of undersea explorers is still reeling from the deadly implosion of an experimental submersible en route to the Titanic in June 2023. The Titan submersible disaster killed all five people on board, including Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who was director of underwater research for RMS Titanic.
This summer’s mission to the Titanic “means even more with the passing” of Nargeolet, known as “Mr. Titanic” by many, RMST Inc. president Jessica Sanders said.
The expedition will use modern imaging technology and remotely operated vehicles to capture detailed images of the Titanic, the wreckage site and the debris field, RMST Inc. representatives said.
“This monumental undertaking will allow us to document the Titanic in unprecedented detail and share new discoveries from the wreck site with the public, continuing the extraordinary work and passion of PH,” Sanders said.
The ship headed to the site, the Dino Chouest, will take several days to reach the site and is slated to return around Aug. 13, said Jon Hammond, a spokesperson for RMST Inc.
The work will allow the company to provide a comprehensive analysis of the current condition of the Titanic wreckage site and a detailed assessment of artifacts that can be safely targeted for future recovery, RMST Inc. representatives said.
Nargeolet made more than 35 dives to the Titanic in his lifetime. The implosion also killed Titan operator Stockton Rush; two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood; and British adventurer Hamish Harding.




The Titanic leaves Southampton, England, April 10, 1912, on her maiden voyage. The company that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic is undertaking its first expedition to the wreckage of the ship in 14 years, and those involved in the mission said they have both heavy hearts and lofty goals for the trip. (AP/File)

OceanGate, a company co-founded by Rush that owned the submersible, suspended operations a year ago. The US Coast Guard convened a high-level investigation into what happened, but it has taken longer than expected and it’s unclear when the investigation will conclude.
Undersea explorers are waiting to learn the results of the investigation and RMST Inc.’s trip to the Titanic site is an important milestone in the site’s exploration, said Katy Croff Bell, founder of the Ocean Discovery League.
“The Coast Guard investigation is still ongoing and they have not released their results yet, so the final chapter in this episode has yet to come out,” Bell said. “One thing that has come out is there is perhaps more interest.”
This month’s journey to the Titanic also will allow comparison to 2010 imaging, RMST Inc. representatives said. The mission also may result in discovery of new areas of the debris field, previously unknown marine life and new areas of deterioration that could provide unobstructed access to the interior of the ship, the company stated on its website.
The vessel making the trip is equipped with two remotely operated vehicles that will be used to capture the first end-to-end mapping image of the wreck field and debris site, RMST Inc. said.
The expedition will include “the highest resolution camera systems ever deployed at the site in an effort to bring new insights about the ship to the community,” said Evan Kovacs, an underwater cinematographer working on the mission.

Topics: Titan passengers Titan submersible Shahzada Dawood Titanic

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’Illegal gold miners’ run residents out of South African settlement

Updated 4 sec ago
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’Illegal gold miners’ run residents out of South African settlement

Updated 4 sec ago
RANDFONTEIN: On crutches and with a bullet lodged in his leg, Miami Chauke is among the few people who did not flee the gun attacks that emptied South Africa’s once-bustling settlement of Sporong, where abandoned tin shacks bake in the sun.
Hundreds of other residents of the area just west of Johannesburg fled two weeks ago, terrorized by violence, extortion and threats they blame on increasingly brazen illegal gold miners.
Taking refuge in a community hall 11 kilometers (seven miles) from their homes, the displaced people of Sporong are among several communities living in fear of the several thousand illegal miners estimated to be operating in South Africa.
“They all had guns and we were running but they kept shooting,” 32-year-old Chauke told AFP of the battle one November night that left a bullet in his left leg.
“I am still in pain. I can’t walk even for 200 meters,” he said.
His plastered leg also prevents him from getting in a car to reach the others, who include his wife and three-year-old daughter.
“We don’t have money but they still shoot at us. They just take even the little that we have,” Chauke said.
Sporong is an informal settlement about 50 kilometers from Johannesburg, South Africa’s economic capital that was built on a gold rush 140 years ago.
The illegal miners — known as “zama zamas” — are after the riches that lie in the ground beneath their humble homes, said Julian Mameng, one of the residents who opted to leave.
“The zamas zamas say our place is rich in gold, we are staying on top of money, and that is why they are killing us, using the gun to scare us away,” the 49-year-old told AFP in the community hall, where families share a cramped space.
In one incident, at least seven people were shot in a bar, he said.

- Terrorizing communities -

The clandestine artisanal miners, many from neighboring countries, have become an entrenched presence in the shantytowns that ring Johannesburg and its satellite settlements along the gold reef.
Driven by poverty and unemployment, the zama zamas — which means “those who try” in the Zulu language — descend deep into still gold-bearing shafts abandoned by mining companies or dig out new ones.
The sector has been linked to organized crime, assassinations, extortion and other illegal activities, leading the government to launch a nationwide crackdown in December 2023.
More than 30,000 people have been arrested and over 4,000 illegal firearms seized, police said last month.
In December, nine people were killed when gunmen opened fire in a tavern in the same municipality as Sporong, an attack that was reportedly linked to a running turf war over abandoned gold mine shafts.
“That place is not good,” said Maria Modikwa, 60;
She escaped with her family of six, including a 10?month?old grandchild, carrying little more than two blankets and clothes to last a few days.
“They shot at us every day, terrorized us, always demanded money, took our phones and bank cards,” she told AFP at the Randfontein hall.
Most of the people sheltering there sleep on the floor, with thin mattresses for the lucky few.
Plastic sheets black out the windows. Food, donated by well?wishers, is cooked on a single gas stove.
Police said on Thursday they would step up operations to flush out illegal miners at Sporong, including deploying two armored trucks.
Local leaders have called for the army to be sent in.
But the promises are little reassurance for Modikwa, who says she will only consider returning if an officer is posted to “protect me day and night.”

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