2023-06-23 19:41:00
Antoine Resche, president of the French “Titanic” Association, tries to explain the fascination around the wreck after the implosion of the “Titan” submarine.
By Marius Bocquet The wreck of the “Titanic”, here during a dive in 1986. © – / Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute / AFP Published on 06/23/2023 at 7:41 p.m.
The mystery around the submarine Titan was lifted on Thursday. The five passengers of the submersible, lost since Sunday in the North Atlantic, near the wreck of the Titanicdied in the “catastrophic implosion” of this small scientific tourism submarine, announced the United States Coast Guard and the organizer of the expedition.
Antoine Resche, historian and president of the French Association of Titanicreturns for Point on the implosion of the submarine and on the fascination surrounding the wreckage of the Titanic since its sinking in 1912.
Point : Is there a curse around the Titanic after the submarine implosion Titan ?
Antoine Reche: No, I don’t see any curse at all. We have been diving at this site for almost forty years, and there has never been a serious accident so far. If there was a curse, I think it would have happened sooner. It’s a bit like when you launch fifty rockets in a row: the more you launch, the greater the risk of failure and accident. These dives are dangerous with very difficult conditions. This is something that all passengers who have participated in these types of expeditions had in mind.
READ ALSOSubmarine missing near the “Titanic”: the madness of the depths of Stockton RushWe must then underline the particular character of this submarine, which was more experimental than others. We have information that is beginning to emerge that, obviously, doubts had been cast about its quality. It is therefore perhaps no coincidence that it was this submarine that had the problem. The previous submarines were state agency submarines, built to extremely high standards.
Did you know Paul-Henri Nargeolet and what did he represent for the Titanic ?
I am passionate about Titanic since I was eight years old and I have heard of him since that age. He is someone who, since the first expedition he led to the wreck in 1987, has been part of the history of this ship. He is not necessarily the one who contributed the most to our knowledge of the history of the ship, but to our knowledge of the wreck, he is obviously someone who has done a lot. Last year, Paul-Henri Nargeolet told us about his experience in a very interesting book (In the depths of the Titanic).
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Above all, he is a great professional in underwater exploration. And not only of Titanic, since he had also conducted research on the crash of the Rio-Paris. I remember seeing him give a lecture on a comparative analysis of these two sites, the wreck of the Titanic and that of Rio-Paris. He was a passionate and fascinating person.
Why do you think the Titanic is he still so passionate?
It is extremely difficult to say. Whenever the media talk about it, people are extremely receptive to it, and have been since 1912. In the 1930s, there had already been editorial phenomena in Germany. In the 1950s, many more in the United States and the United Kingdom, where the Titanic gave rise to films. It came up several times, whether in popular culture or in more scientific fields, without my being able to really explain it.
READ ALSOMissing submarine: the US Navy had detected its implosion on SundayWhat I do know is that there is a kind of circle that is nourished: the exhibition leads to passions and the passions lead to new exhibitions. This was the case for example when James Cameron, who is a real enthusiast, made his film and generated millions of enthusiasts around the world.
And what about the wreckage itself?
Several oceanographers have said something very right, which is that wrecks, in general, are fascinating. THE Titanic being the most famous ship, its wreck fascinates even more. In addition, there is the search for performance. Going down to that depth is a bit like climbing Everest or going into space. The wreckage of Titanic is still not the most accessible.
Tourist dives are then very rare and very expensive. Compared to sites much more secure and close to the coast, we are on something which, by its price, by its difficulty, has a different intrinsic value. Finally, for scientists, there are very important reasons to dive there: to get to know the site better, but also to get to know better all of its biology which is quite extraordinary and which we know very little about. Completely unknown species and ways of life have been discovered there, because it is a depth where human life could not survive.
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