A rare “Uncut” video of a 1986 dive exploring the Titanic wreck was released

An oceanographic organization has released over an hour of 1986 dive footage exploring the wreck of the RMS Titanic that the public has mostly never seen before.

The footage was released on Wednesday evening By the Woods Hole Oceanic Foundation In honor of the 25th anniversary of James Cameron’s Oscar-winning “Titanic,” its re-release in theaters across the country.

The wreckage of the Titanic was first found by researchers from the World Health Organization, working in partnership with a French institute, in 1985. This expedition was led by Dr. Robert Ballard. In June 1986, the team returns to the wreck site with a humanoid submarine called Alvin and a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) called Jason Junior. That mission marked “the first time humans have seen the ill-fated ship” since it sank in 1912, according to the foundation.

jason-jr-survey.jpg
Remotely operated car Jason Jr. on the deck of the Titanic in 1986.

WHOI Archives / © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution


The “rare, uncut and mostly unclassified footage” was uploaded to WHOI’s YouTube channel on Wednesday. The video includes images of the Alvin submarine approaching the ship and coming to a stop on its deck.

The footage also provides a look at interior shots of the wreck, including a look inside the chief officer’s cabin and shots of the wreck on the ocean floor.


Alvin visits the wreck of the Titanic by
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on
Youtube

“More than a century after the loss of the Titanic, the human stories embodied in the great ship still reverberate,” Cameron said in a statement provided by the institute. “Like many, I was aghast when Alvin and Jason Jr. ventured down to and into the wreckage. By releasing this footage, WHOI is helping tell an important part of a story that spans generations and circles the world.”

About 2,200 people were on board the ocean liner – which was advertised as “unsinkable” and designed to be the most luxurious ship available – when it set off in the North Atlantic on its maiden voyage. About 1,500 people died after the ship hit an iceberg and sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912. About 700 of the passengers and crew survived only to be rescued by the RMS Carpathia.

The wreckage of the Titanic has remained 12,600 feet below the ocean’s surface ever since.

titanic-bow. jpg
The bow of the Titanic as it was found in 1986.

WHOI Archives / © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution


According to WHOI, efforts to “locate and salvage the ship” began almost immediately after it sank, but technical limitations kept the wreck hidden for nearly 75 years. By 1985, new imaging technology was taking pictures of the ship and helping researchers find the wreck.

The 1986 expedition “changed the way we explore the ocean depths,” said Dana Yorger, a WHO engineer and member of the 1985 and 1986 expeditions.

“The human-operated Alvin submarine brought the scientists down 12,500 feet from the Titanic,” Jurger said in a statement. “Starting from Alvin, we used the Jason Jr. robot to hack into the Titanic and transmit images of the ship’s interior while people safely remained outside the wreck. For WHO and the entire ocean research community, these developments have provided an important foundation for modern deep sea exploration technology.”

(Visited 16 times, 1 visits today)

Related posts