Plans to allow tourists to tour the Titanic's sister ship by submersible have been announced by the British owner of the wreck.
Photo: courtesy London Aquariam
Marine historian Simon Mills, who bought the wreck of the HMHS Britannic from the UK government in 1996, plans to offer submersible tours of the ocean liner, which lies at 122m off the Greek island of Kea.
The Britannic is a major liner wreck, measuring more than 6m longer than the Titanic, and is regarded as one of the best and most challenging technical dives in the world. It was lost in 1916 on its sixth voyage in its newly commissioned role as a military hospital ship during the First World War.
Thirty of the 1,062 crew died in the sinking when two lifeboats were pulled into the ship's still-turning port propeller. Underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau found the wreck in 1975 and divers continue to visit the site each year.
Mills said increasing the scope of visitors to the wreck would greater highlight
its historical importance. The journey to 120m by mini-sub takes ten minutes, he said, compared to the minimum two and a half hours taken by technical divers to reach the wreck.
'After being lost for more than half a century, the Britannic could soon be the biggest must-see attraction in the Mediterranean,' Mills said. 'Our plan is to start off with three- or four-seater submersibles. This project is not just about tourism but also about education, conservation and marine archaeology.'
Mills said the Britannic was different to its sister ship as it is very well preserved and intact. The Titanic, he said, is disintegrating because of iron-eating bacteria in its cold Atlantic surroundings.
