The Titanic struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in April 1912, killing over 1,500 people. The wreck of the Titanic, discovered in 1985, lies in two parts on the ocean floor, about 13,000 feet below the surface, southeast of the Canadian province of Newfoundland.

More recently, expensive private tours have been offered to tourists, allowing people to see the wreck up close.

An archived version of the OceanGate website, accessible through the Wayback Machine, shows what passengers can spend up to $250,000 on the trip.

“Follow in the footsteps of Jacques Cousteau and become an underwater explorer – starting with a dive into the wreck of the RMS Titanic. This is your chance to step out of everyday life and discover something truly extraordinary.

“Become one of the few to see the Titanic with your own eyes,” he adds.

The eight-day expedition is based in the city of St. John’s, Newfoundland. The trip begins with a 400 nautical mile voyage to the wreck site.

There, up to five people, including a pilot, a “content expert” and three paying passengers, board the submersible “Titan” and descend to the bottom of the ocean.

“Once the submersible is launched, you’ll start to see life forms swirling through the porthole as you sink deeper and deeper into the ocean. The descent takes about two hours, but it feels like a breeze. eye,” the website reads.

According to OceanGate, Titan is a 23,000-pound (about 10.4 tons) submersible made of carbon fiber and titanium.

As a safety measure, the submarine uses a “proprietary real-time hull health monitoring (RTM) system” that analyzes the pressure in the vessel and the integrity of the structure, the company claims.

It also has a life support system for a crew of five for up to 96 hours, according to the website.