Since its fateful sinking more than a century ago (1912), off the coast of Newfoundland, the Titanic continues to exert an unstoppable fascination in the collective imagination. Despite the risks and the ocean depths that house her tomb, this iconic relic has drawn countless adventurers, tourists, and filmmakers in search of answers and thrills.
Recently, the disappearance of a submersible in the area where the Titanic rests on the seabed has revived public interest in the story of one of the world’s greatest maritime disasters. However, these five missing passengers are just the latest in a long line of explorers who have tried to unravel the mysteries hidden in the depths of the North Atlantic.
Before this expensive expedition on the Titan (OceanGate), valued at about $250,000 per traveler, the majestic ship that struck an iceberg had already captured the imagination of writers, film directors and adventurers of all stripes. The RMS Titanic, when it left Southampton, England for New York in 1912, was considered a technological prodigy and a symbol of pride. With almost 2,000 people -between passengers and crew- of her, she held the title of the largest ship ever built up to that time. On board, the lucky first class passengers enjoyed luxurious facilities that included a gym, a squash court, a swimming pool, restaurants, cafes and various lounges. Below deck, however, hundreds of poor immigrants in search of the American dream were crammed into far more precarious conditions.
The fateful encounter with the iceberg, on the night of April 14, 1912, quickly turned the transatlantic voyage into a nightmare. The collision deformed the ship’s hull and the water began to flood it inexorably. The lack of lifeboats and confusion amid the chaos led to a disorganized evacuation.
For 70 years, the exact location of the Titanic’s wreckage was a mystery, until a Franco-American expedition managed to discover it in 1985, at a depth of 3,700 meters. The captured images revealed that the 269-meter long lay on the seabed in two halves.
Since its discovery, the remains of the Titanic have become an attraction for researchers, explorers, tourists and filmmakers. Among the most famous visitors is the renowned director James Cameron, whose film Titanic (1997), immortalized the historical love drama between Jack and Rose, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, which along with the soundtrack with the song by Céline Dion My Heart Will Go On captivated moviegoers worldwide. “The Titanic has a romantic and mythical quality that seems to have no end”, this is how Cameron summed up the interest in learning about and contemplating the remains of the ocean liner, which to this day continues to captivate the curious.
However, tourism around the tragedy in the Atlantic these days has generated controversy. Some families of Titanic victims are outraged by the display of wealth that comes with accessing the wreckage. They consider this practice dishonorable and an invasion of the peace of those who lost their lives on that fateful night in the icy waters of the Atlantic. They ensure that it should be treated with respect, not as a tourist destination. “It’s disgusting,” said John Locascio, 69, whose two uncles lost their lives in the shipwreck. They were only 17 and 20 years old when they died. “I would like this to stop completely. It doesn’t make sense. You go there to see a grave,” he added in an interview with the US newspaper The Daily Beast. “They died terribly tragically. We don’t want people to go see them. Let them rest in peace.”
“It reminds me of rich people who hunt endangered species because they can afford it,” reasoned Brett Gladstone, whose great-great-grandmother and great-grandfather, Ida and Isidor Straus, also died in the shipwreck. The interview entitled ‘Like Disneyland’: Titanic Families Blast ‘Disgusting’ Tours of Wreckage has generated some controversy in the US between detractors and defenders of this type of exclusive tourism, focusing the debate on the ethical issues of organized trips to the Titanic .
As the years pass, this legendary ocean liner continues to spark curiosity and debate about its tragic fate and the lives lost on that fateful night in the Atlantic Ocean.
