Ohio-based billionaire and real estate investor Larry Connor has teamed up with Triton Submarines to visit the Titanic wreckage in a $20 million submersible, aiming to prove that the industry is safe following the OceanGate Titan implosion last year. The tragedy, which claimed the lives of five people, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, raised alarms about the safety of extreme tourism.

Connor and Triton co-founder Patrick Lahey will embark on the journey in the Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer, a state-of-the-art submersible designed to withstand the immense pressures of the deep ocean. “Patrick has been thinking about and designing this for over a decade. But we didn’t have the materials and technology,” Connor said. “You couldn’t have built this sub five years ago.”

Lahey had previously criticized Rush for his predatory tactics in recruiting wealthy clients and the Titan’s carbon fiber hull, which he believed contributed to the catastrophic implosion. The Titan submersible never received certification due to its radical design flaws, which Lahey called a “monstrosity.”

By partnering with Triton and showcasing the capabilities of their submersible, Connor hopes to demonstrate that deep-sea exploration can be safe and enjoyable when done responsibly. The expedition aims to restore confidence in the industry and honor the lives lost in the OceanGate tragedy.