Horizon Maritime Signs On to Support Titanic Dive
Canadian offshore services company Horizon Maritime has signed on to support a dive mission to explore the wreck of the Titanic.
OceanGate Expeditions, the crewed submersible exploration company leading the mission, selected the multipurpose offshore support vessel (OSV) Horizon Arctic to serve as the surface support vessel for the expedition scheduled to take place later this year.
The RMS Titanic shipwreck lies approximately 2,500 feet below the ocean's surface, about 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. This expedition will be the first of an annual series that will document the condition of the wreck, the debris field and the marine life found there.
“The expedition vessel is essential to the success of the missions we will embark upon beginning in June 2021,” said Stockton Rush, president, OceanGate Expeditions. “The Titanic Survey Expedition will utilize OceanGate Inc.’s five-crewmember submersible, Titan, and their proprietary launch and recovery platform that are easily accommodated by a wide variety of surface support vessels.
“For this expedition, in one of the world’s harshest marine environments, we have selected a superior vessel with outstanding features such as low emissions hybrid propulsion, full redundancies, and the highest standard of accommodations for our crew and Mission Specialists. Our focus has been on identifying a vessel and crew uniquely qualified in deep subsea operations with a commitment to putting safety first. We have found that in the crew of the Horizon Arctic,” Rush said.
The Horizon Arctic is Canadian-owned and operated by Horizon Maritime. The 93.6 meter vessel has the environmentally-friendly CLEAN DESIGN class notation, a hybrid propulsion system, and improved low resistance design for high speed and crew comfort. The vessel also has an ROV with integrated control room and launch and recovery system.
“We are excited to be providing the Horizon Arctic for the inaugural Titanic Survey Expedition, conducting this operation from our home port in St. John’s,” said Sean Leet, CEO, Horizon Maritime. “Our crews have unmatched training and experience in subsea support operations – safety is paramount within all of our operations. While we have supported many complex subsea operations over the years, supporting the team making these dives to the iconic resting place of the Titanic is an exceptional honor. We are looking forward to working with the OceanGate Expeditions team and participating in these on-going missions that will document and preserve a fascinating aspect of our Atlantic Canadian heritage.”