The media attention that followed the Titan submersible disaster led to a significant increase in submarine exploration, say industry leaders. It also reflects a growing interest in “extreme tourism.”
June 18 marks the one-year anniversary of the Titan implosion. Its fate, of course, inspired endless coverage of OceanGate, the company behind the submersible—none of it good. OceanGate not only ignored conventional wisdom while designing and building the Titan, but openly flaunted accepted industry standards as well.
And yet, despite all the awful press around the Titan, the submersible excursion market is currently bigger than ever. Which, amazingly enough, the Titan tragedy seems to be helping fuel. “Because of all the media coverage of the Titan, people realize now that [deep-sea submersible diving] is something that’s possible,” says Rob McCallum, founding partner and expedition leader for EYOS, a luxury yacht charter company.
“In the past year, we’ve only really strengthened the image of the industry, saying the industry is not Titan,” says Ofer Ketter, a licensed deep sea submersible pilot. “We get more calls every year. Current clients don’t want to sell their subs.”
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