It took almost 75 years for researchers to record the first footage of the remains of Titanic, buried more than 2 miles below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. It then took them nearly another 40 years to release the footage in its fuller form.
This week, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) released 80 minutes of uncut footage from its the first filmed journey to the sunken ship. Captured just months after a WHOI team discovered the remains 1985footage includes several shots of titanic – including its bow, rusted railings and cavernous cabins – which are completely new to the public.
Salvaging a sunken ship
Calls for the rescue of Titanic it came almost immediately after the ship sank in 1912. However, the sheer size of the Atlantic Ocean and the inadequacy of technology at the time stalled the search for the remains for years.
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In fact, it was not until 1985 that the WHOI, working closely with Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer (IFEMER), developed and implemented technology which he finally found Titanic. Consisting of two deep-sea submarines, the so-called Argo and Jasonthis technology was towed behind a research vessel on the surface of the water and was armed with sonar sensors and cameras to detect the debris of what was once seen as “unsinkable.”
Following the trail of wreckage all the way to the ship itself, the team discovered Titanic in two separate parts, approx 400 nautical miles south-southeast off the coast of Newfoundland. The following year 1986, another WHOI team returned to the site to further examine the remains.
Drifting through the depths in a three-seater submarine called Alvin and weaving a remote-controlled robot called Jason Jr through the interior of the ship, this team captured the newly released footage. According to WHOI press releasethe footage represents “the first time people have seen the ship since its ill-fated voyage”.
First movie (and 25th)
The largest and most luxurious ship in service at the timeon Titanic was considered invincible when it began its maiden voyage in 1912. However, while traveling across the Atlantic Ocean, sailing from Southampton to New York, the ship struck a giant iceberg and began to sink.
Above 1500 people died as the ship plunged into the sea, sending shockwaves around the world and breaking records for deadly maritime disasters at the time.
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According to WHOI, the unveiling of this new, never-before-seen footage coincides with the film’s 25th anniversary Titanicwhich was remastered and re-released in theaters this month.
“More than a century after the loss of Titanicthe human stories embodied in the great ship continue to resonate,” says James Cameron, the film’s director, according to WHOI press release. “I was amazed when Alvin and Jason Jr. ventured down to and inside the wreck. By releasing this material, WHOI is helping to tell an important part of a story that spans generations and circles the globe.”