Rare and in some cases never before publicly seen video of
the 1986 dive through the wreckage of the Titanic is being released Wednesday
by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
The more than 80 minutes of footage on the WHOI’s YouTube
channel chronicles some of the remarkable achievements of the dive led by
Robert Ballard that marked the first time human eyes had seen the giant ocean
liner since it struck an iceberg and sank in the frigid North Atlantic in April
1912. About 1,500 people died during the ship’s maiden voyage from Southampton,
England, to New York City.
A team from Massachusetts-based Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution, in partnership with the French oceanographic exploration
organization Institut français de recherche pour l’exploitation de la mer,
discovered the final resting place of the ship in 12,400 feet (3,780 meters) of
water on Sept. 1, 1985 using a towed underwater camera.
Nine months later, a WHOI team returned to the site in the
famous three-person research submersible Alvin and the remotely-operated
underwater exploration vehicle Jason Jr., which took iconic images of the
ship’s interior.
The release of the footage is in conjunction with the 25th
anniversary release on Feb. 10 of the remastered version of the Academy
Award-winning movie, “Titanic.”
“More than a century after the loss of Titanic, the human
stories embodied in the great ship continue to resonate,” ocean explorer and filmmaker
James Cameron said in a statement. “Like many, I was transfixed when Alvin and
Jason Jr. ventured down to and inside the wreck. By releasing this footage,
WHOI is helping tell an important part of a story that spans generations and
circles the globe.”