‘Well-known’ billionaire is planning a secret trip to the Titanic wreckage – two years

After the OceanGate disaster, you’d be forgiven for thinking the wreckage of the Titanic would finally be left in peace.

But a ‘well–known’ billionaire is planning a secret trip to the ship’s watery resting place, it has emerged.

Industry insiders claim the unnamed individual is planning to plunge 2.4 miles (3.8km) into the depths of the ocean to visit the Titanic in ‘a couple of weeks’.

It comes just over two years after the doomed OceanGate expedition, when the Titan submarine imploded during a dive to the infamous shipwreck.

When pieces of the vessel were found at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean, experts determined the vessel had imploded during its descent, likely killing all five of its passengers instantly.

Since then, the Titanic, which sank in 1912, has remained unvisited by humans.

But it seems it still holds a powerful lure over thrill–seeking billionaires and marine explorers alike.

Rumours are spreading among elite ocean explorers of an imminent new expedition – but the details are being kept under wraps.

The Titan submersible pictured during a descent. Safety failures by OceanGate led to its deadly 2023 implosion, the US Coast Guard said in a final report published earlier this month

Remains of the Titan submersible pictured at the bottom of the ocean. Five people were killed in the deadly expedition

Footage from a remotely operated vehicle shows the debris of the Titan submersible. While images of the wreckage would put many people off the idea of ever visiting the shipwreck, one billionaire is allegedly about to make the trip

‘What I can tell you is that it’s a billionaire,’ an insider told the New York Post. ‘Going down there will cost $10 million (£7.4 million).

‘You would recognise the name. He’ll want to make an announcement that he is the first person to go to the Titanic since the tragedy.’

People have taken to X to discuss possible contenders for the secret billionaire including entrepreneur Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and American businessman Larry Connor. 

The world first learned of the Titan submersible when a tourist expedition to visit the wreck of Titanic went missing off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada in June 2023. Over the next four days, the world was mesmerised as recovery teams battled to reach the area and launch a rescue operation.

Reports of sustained banging noises led many to believe the vessel may have lost power but that its inhabitants were still alive.

However, pieces of the sub found on the sea floor confirmed the underwater vehicle had experienced catastrophic failure less than two hours into its descent – killing everyone onboard.

One of those who lost their lives was OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush. Many now believe his relentless quest to bring oceanic exploration to the luxury tourism industry contributed to the ‘completely avoidable’ disaster.

His private company boasted it was the first to take ordinary tourists to see the Titanic, charging $250,000 (£185,000) per person.

This digital 3D scan shows what condition the front half of the ship (the bow) is in, as of summer 2022

OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, pictured, was piloting the submersible when it imploded during its descent in June 2023

Father and son Shahzada Dawood, 48, (right) one of Pakistan’s richest men and  Sulaiman Dawood, 19, (left) were also killed in the implosion

A report concluded Titan (pictured) imploded because its pressure hull where passengers sit was mostly made from fiberglass, rather than the more traditionally used titanium

Following the tragedy, questions emerged about the safety of the submersible, which had been making voyages to the Titanic wreckage site since 2021.

It came to light that leaders in the field of deep–sea exploration had previously warned Mr Rush that his company’s ‘experimental’ methods could end in ‘catastrophic’ disaster.

Company insiders also expressed concerns, including David Lochridge who worked as the Titan project’s director of marine operations.

He had demanded more rigorous safety checks on the sub – including ‘testing to prove its integrity’.

A US Coast Guard report released earlier this month said Titan imploded because its pressure hull where passengers sit was mostly made from fiberglass, rather than the more traditionally used titanium.

It also emerged that the vessel was being operated by what looked like a video game controller.

Other manned submersibles can reach the depths of the Titanic, but are mostly operated by marine research companies or the Navy.

Patrick Lahey, CEO of Triton Submarines, is in the midst of building a commercially available sub that could handle the journey.

The underwater vehicle currently being developed by Patrick Lahey’s company, Triton Submarines

‘Besides it being a wreck of historical significance, the fact that it lies at such great depths makes it fascinating to visit,’ he told the Post.

‘Titanic is a wreck that’s covered in marine life and soft coral. People want to go there for the same reason they want to climb Mount Everest.’

While it’s not clear who the secret billionaire is, a handful are already known to have owned their very own submersible.

They include the Wall Street magnate Ray Dalio and Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.

Who was Stockton Rush?

San Francisco-born Rush, 61, founded OceanGate Expeditions in 2009 – after trying, and failing, to buy explorer and businessman Steve Fossett’s submersible, after the adventurer died in a 2007 plane crash.

As a young man, Rush was more interested in space than deep seas: At 19, he became the youngest jet transport-rated pilot in the world, qualifying with the United Airlines Jet Training Institute.

For the next three years he flew for Saudi Arabian Airlines on his summer holidays from his aerospace engineering course at Princeton. 

From 1984 he worked with the US Air Force on F-15s and anti-satellite missile programs, with the aim of eventually taking part in the space program.

Rush obtained an MBA from Berkeley and went on to work for multiple companies, specializing in sonar, subsea technology and radars.

Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate 

He built a Glasair III experimental aircraft which he flew regularly, and his own Kittredge K-350 two-man submersible.

Rush always intended to take tourists to the Titanic: in 2017, he said he planned to then branch out to excursions to hydrothermal vents or deep-sea canyons, and underwater battlefield tours. 

He then hoped to work with oil and gas exploration. 

In 2018, the Manned Underwater Vehicles committee of the Marine Technology Society, a 60-year-old trade group, warned that the ‘current ‘experimental’ approach’ of the company could result in problems ‘from minor to catastrophic.’ 

The company also fired David Lochridge, who was Director of Marine operations for the Titan project, after disagreeing with his demand for more rigorous safety checks on the submersible, including ‘testing to prove its integrity’.

Additionally, the company opted against having the craft ‘classed’, an industry-wide practice whereby independent inspectors ensure vessels meet accepted technical standards.

The first trips to see Titanic began in 2021. Rush was killed in the June 18 disaster.