A BRAVE billionaire is set to dive back down to the Titanic wreckage in a luxury submarine just a year after the Titan tragedy that claimed five lives.
The revolutionary two-person Triton 4000 will take the terrifying plunge over 12,400ft below the Atlantic Ocean to try and prove the underwater journey can be done without disaster striking again.
Costing a whopping £16million, the sub has been massively upgraded since the doomed Titan vessel that brutally imploded less than two-hours into its dive back in June 2023.
Ohio-based billionaire and real-estate tycoon Larry Connor is set to test the vessel out when he goes in the deep-sea submersible to visit the remains of the legendary Titanic.
Connor told the Wall Street Journal: “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."
Developer and co-founder of Triton Submarines Patrick Lahey is set to strap himself in the driving seat alongside Connor when it finally hits the ocean.
He has worked tirelessly on ensuring the vessel won't be a death trap.
Vowing to only explore the famous shipwreck once the 4000 has fully certified by a marine organisation.
No time frame has been put in place yet for when the sub will make the ambitious mission.
Triton describe the vessel as "a high-performance, flexible platform with capabilities that are simply unmatched".
Its design is fascinating with a large domed cabin housing the bold explorers.
Clear glass windows surround the sub allowing passengers to gaze at the outside world even when their thousands of feet below the surface.
Its controlled by a joystick and a touchscreen which gives the explorers complete control over where the voyage takes them.
Giant 19ft wings also pop put of the vessel as it makes its daring descent fit with sky lights for clear visibility.
The retractable wings are also fitted with cameras so the journeys can be filmed and watched on forever.
While it looks compact, the 4000 sub is actually an impressive 10ft tall and weighs a mammoth 12,000kg.
Despite its size, it is actually one of the most gentle and stable subs ever made.
Chief designer Lahey included a special "silent glide" technology that when enabled can help the vessel to perform both intricate and sweeping turns.
It can also track an object underwater and seamlessly glide towards a target.
They also hope it will be able to perform on multiple trips making it a very useful investment.
The hope is that the sub will be able to reach the Titanic in under two hours - a record breaking speed if possible.
This will be achieved through its eight, direct-drive thrusters that can send it soaring through the ocean at three knots.
LAST June, a horrific implosion in an OceanGate sub killed five people, including company CEO Stockton Rush.
Billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, and his 19-year-old son, Suleman all also died.
On June 18, 2023, the submersible was sent out by OceanGate Expeditions to explore the iconic Titanic wreckage.
By June 19, the submarine had not returned, prompting a search by the Coast Guard for the missing vessel.
Those inside the vessel are understood to have lost contact with its mothership above water, called the Polar Prince, just one hour and 45 minutes into the expedition.
After days of searching, the Coast Guard announced the deaths of all five passengers onboard on June 22, confirming a "catastrophic implosion" had taken place.
It was reported the submersible suffered an instant and intense pressure in the North Atlantic's deep waters.
Experts had previously cautioned this may occur due to the intense pressure at extreme depths and further warned the Titan's hull could implode.
The Titan was designed by a team of Nasa engineers but was reportedly steered by a reinforced PlayStation controller and had no GPS system.
The name of the submersible is actually the 2 Abyssal Explorer but the 4000 nickname comes from the depth it is expected to be safely able to reach - 4,000m (13,100ft).
One of the main issues with the Titan OceanGate vessel was that it could reportedly only reach 1,300m (4200ft) before issues started to plague it.
Meaning it couldn't get close to the wreckage of the Titanic on the expedition.
Lahey himself was one of the many luxury-adventure industry leaders who criticised OceanGate's plan and lack of thorough checks.
Both before and after the disaster he accused the company of questionable safety standards.
The industry around private underwater trips suffered terribly after the Titan disaster.
But the two men hope by providing a successful voyage the interest in deep-sea explorations will quickly reignite.
Connor reportedly told Lahey after the Titan tradegy: “What we need to do is build a sub that can dive to [Titanic-level depths] repeatedly and safely and demonstrate to the world that you guys can do that, and that Titan was a contraption.”
