Nearly one year after the fatal implosion of an OceanGate submersible en route to view the wreck of the Titanic, a billionaire from Ohio is gearing up to prove that the industry is actually safe.
“I want to show people worldwide that while the ocean is extremely powerful, it can be wonderful and enjoyable and really kind of life-changing if you go about it the right way,” Larry Connor told the Wall Street Journal.
Connor—who himself has visited the Mariana Trench—is hoping to assuage concerns about the industry, after OceanGate’s Titan submersible imploded last June, killing its five passengers. OceanGate carried out about a dozen successful dives to the wreckage site before its implosion.
Connor, a real estate investor, is set to travel with Triton Submarines founder Patrick Lahey, an experienced sub pilot who has visited the deepest point in the ocean—more than 35,000 feet below surface level.
In the Wall Street Journal report about the upcoming expedition, Triton and others in the industry sought to differentiate themselves from OceanGate by highlighting the differences between “classed”—certified as safe and up to code—and “unclassed” subs, which Titan was.
While the Triton sub that will carry Connor and Lahey will be classed and unlike Titan, is not made from experimental designs and materials such as carbon fiber that are prone to cracking over time, the general public is not optimistic about the endeavors.
“I could be down for an annual sacrifice of billionaires to the sea gods tbh,” one person wrote in a viral X post that has been viewed almost three million times.
OceanGate’s implosion prompted a similar flurry of memes and anti-billionaire discourse, driven by the expedition’s $250,000 price tag.
“yes yes more billionaires should try. all of them maybe,” quipped one account over Connor’s announcement.
“At this point, it just feels like the Titanic is eating the rich,” joked one account.
“What’s the worst that could happen?” someone else asked sarcastically.
“I am so sick of sequels,” quipped another person.
“There’s gotta be an easier way to get rid of billionaires but this is certainly the most dramatic way,” wrote someone else.
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