Nearly six decades after 46 people died when the Andrea Doria sank to the sea floor following a violent collision with another ocean liner south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, explorers are preparing to do what 16 people have lost their lives attempting: get a good look at the wreckage.
A Washington state-based ocean exploration company is planning the first manned submersible expedition to the wreck in 20 years.
Everett, Washington-based OceanGate will use its five-man submersible Cyclops I next month to get high-definition video and 3-D sonar images of the shipwreck, technology never before used to study one of the nation’s most famous maritime disasters.
The wreck, in about 240 feet of water 50 miles south of Nantucket, has for years attracted treasure-hunting divers looking for money, china and other artifacts from a bygone era. But 16 of those divers have died, the most recent just last year.
The wreck has been compared to Mount Everest, because as alluring and dangerous as the world’s tallest peak is to mountaineers, the Andrea Doria is to divers.
Because of its depth, divers can only spend about 20 minutes exploring the wreck. The Cyclops I, with an interior about the size of a Chevrolet Suburban, can stay down for hours. The plan is to do two three-hour dives per day during the weeklong expedition. The June 2-9 mission is to document and observe, not collect artifacts.
It’s being conducted with the help of Boston Harbor Cruises, which is providing the operational vessel and iXBlue, which is providing navigation services.
Source: ABC New
