The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute has shown unique footage from the Titanic, taken in 1986 at a depth of almost 4 km, a year after the discovery of the sunken liner in the North Atlantic
He writes about it CBS News.
In honor of the 25th anniversary of the release of James Cameron’s legendary disaster film “Titanic”, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has released footage taken in 1986. This video has never been shown before.
The 80-minute video, titled When Alvin Visited the Titanic Wreck, details the first dive on the sunken liner since its discovery in 1985.
This rare and uncut footage of the wreckage of the Titanic was captured in July 1986 by cameras on the Alvin Submersible and the Jason Jr. Remotely Operated Underwater Research Vehicle. They were the ones who made the landmark shooting of the interior of the ship. Much of this record has never been made public.
The dive was conducted under the leadership of Robert Ballard. It was the first time the human eye had seen the giant ocean liner since it collided with an iceberg and sank in the frigid North Atlantic in April 1912.
The footage offers a look inside the sunken ship, including a look inside the chief officer’s cabin and footage of the wreckage on the ocean floor. Two cameras cover the outlines of the famous liner from the depths of the water, show the remains of the interior decoration and how the ocean and the years have not spared the ship, which was considered the most luxurious of its time, whose first voyage was the last.
“More than a century after the death of the Titanic, the human stories embodied in the great ship continue to resonate. Like most people, I was amazed when Alvin and Jason Jr. ventured down to the crash site. By releasing this footage, WHOI is helping to tell an important part of a story that spans generations and the world,” said James Cameron.
The ocean liner, billed as an “unsinkable” and “most luxurious” vessel, was carrying about 2,200 people when it left Southampton, England, for New York. About 1,500 people died after the ship hit an iceberg and sank in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912. Only about 700 passengers and crew members were saved.
On September 1, 1985, a team from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, in cooperation with the French organization of oceanographic research IFREMER, discovered the place where the ship sank at a depth of 3,780 meters.
