Oceanographers, historians, and filmmakers have all been fascinated by the shipwreck of the famous Titanic. Now, rare and previously hidden eerie footage of the historic shipwreck has been made available to the public.
Never-before-seen Footage of Historic Titanic
The one-hour abd 21-minute footage can now be accessed on the WHOI's (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's) YouTube channel.
While this is the first time the majority of this footage has been publicly released, it was taken decades ago. Science Alert reports that, more specifically, the footage was shot way back in 1986 by cameras loaded on the submersible DSV Alvin and its linked craft Jason Jr, which was remotely operated and newly built back then.
Metro UK notes that a team from WHOI, directed by Rober Ballard, also visited the site in 1986, before snaps were taken of the iconic ship's interior. This marked the first-ever dive into the area. This was a fulfilled dream for Ballard, who had a lifelong wish to find the historic Titanic.
Ballard attempted to achieve such a feat three years before the discovery of the shipwreck. This was when he was still an oceanographer and intelligence officer in the US Navy. Back then, he tried to come up with an underwater mobile that he could remotely control.
When his funds were starting to run out, he turned to Ronald Thunman, the deputy chief of the US Navy. Mr. Thunman was shocked by such a request that came when he was handling a top-secret and serious mission.
The pair, however, came to an agreement that the US Navy would help with the funding if Mr. Ballard used diving time to find two different nuclear submarines that got lost in the Atlantic back in the 1960s.
Mr. Ballard took longer than expected to spot these submarines. Because of this, he only had 12 days left to spot the Titanic. Nevertheless, he was able to find it within eight.
The shipwreck was reportedly found 400 miles from the Newfoundland coast in Canada on September 1, 1985. This was 73 years since its wreck in 1912.
25th Anniversary of Top-Grossing Film "Titanic"
This footage release coincides with the 25th anniversary of the top-grossing film that was first released on February 10, 1997. The Daily Mail reports that this tragic event was the first for the human eyes to spot a huge ocean liner hit an iceberg and eventually fall into its demise.
There were around 1,500 people who died during this journey from Southampton, England all the way to New York City.
Filmmaker and ocean explorer James Cameron says that even after a century has passed since the Titanic's loss, the stories still resonate.
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