OceanGate Expeditions, whose Titan submersible is missing, had scheduled a tourist expedition in the Azores for May 2024 to observe hydrothermal vents, according to the company’s expedition schedule.
The three-day expedition in the Azores included diving aboard the Titanic submersible, which disappeared in the North Atlantic on Sunday as it descended to visit the wreckage of the Titanic, which lies some 3,800 meters deep.
The search and rescue operation to find and recover the submersible, which has five people on board, entered a critical phase on Thursday because oxygen reserves are running out.
In promoting the trip to the Azores, the company considers that “the deep waters of the archipelago are truly one of the best places to dive in the world.”
The company highlights the archipelago’s “variety of deep-sea corals, one of the world’s most diverse populations of whales, and the bizarre life forms that surround hydrothermal vents” as attractions of the archipelago.
“While the Azores have been popular with SCUBA (scuba) divers for decades, exploring the area on a deep dive on OceanGate’s Titan submersible will open up a new era of exploration of this underwater gem,” the company says.
The Azores have become one of the world centers for scientific research and scientific tourism due to the richness of its marine ecosystems, including the “Lucky Strike” hydrothermal vent field.
In June 2018, a scientific expedition offshore the Azores discovered a new hydrothermal field, the first by exclusively Portuguese means and also the shallowest of the eight known fields in the Azores.
Lusa tried to get a comment from OceanGate Expeditions about the expedition in the Azores, but without success.
Source: TSF
