The quality of this new on-site shot of the Titanic is impressive. It shows new details. But that can tell us nothing more about the history of the ship, sunk in 1912.
This is not a wreck like the others. Some 600 kilometers under water, in the North Atlantic Ocean, lies what remains of the Titanic. Reputed to be unsinkable, this gigantic ship sank in 1912 in a landmark disaster that gave rise, several decades later, to the famous film by James Cameron.
The wreck is now a place of study, both for archaeologists and biologists, but it remains very difficult to access. It is for this reason that, during its latest expedition, the company OceanGate Expeditions embarked the most sophisticated cameras. They were able to produce the best video to date of the wreckage, in 8K quality, a display resolution of 8,000 pixels (the result is even sharper than in 4K).
The video was released on August 31, 2022:
OceanGate had already made the news in 2017, when it launched an expedition to film the wreckage of the Titanic enough to be able to produce a 3D model in high definition.
What is an 8K video of the Titanic used for?
This new 8K shot could, according to OceanGate, come to the aid of archaeologists. The latter cannot study the boat for a long time directly on site, because of its depth. Thus, the video provides additional elements, as explained by Rory Golden, Titanic specialist and stakeholder in the expedition: ” We see new details in these sequences. For example, I had never seen the name of the anchor manufacturer, Noah Hingley & Sons Ltd, on the port anchor “, he notes on the OceanGate website. “ I’ve been studying the wreck for decades and have done many dives, but I don’t recall seeing any other images showing this level of detail. »
But it is also the phenomenon of decomposition that is observed, for this wreck which has been under water for more than a century. ” Comparing footage and images from 2021, we see slight changes in some areas of the wreckage. To which is obviously added the study of the marine life which develops around and in the heart of the wreck.
“I can’t say there was anything that could be a real discovery”
It is clear, however, that the approach is not unanimous, as noted by the New York Times by relaying the video, this Sunday, September 4. ” I don’t object to this kind of commercial exploitation, because they don’t touch or damage the wreck says Paul F. Johnston, curator at the National Museum of American History. ” And that draws attention to the underwater world and shipwrecks in general, but in my opinion, there’s not so much to learn from Titanic that we don’t already know. »
Same story with Don Lynch, historian of the Titanic Historical Society: “ The more they film, the more likely we’ll discover things we haven’t seen before, or something like that. “, he tells the New York Timeswith a nuance, however: “ But I can’t say there’s been anything that could be a real find now. It’s just amazing to see with such clarity. »