THE clearest ever footage of the wreck of the Titanic shows the doomed ship’s massive 15 ton anchor sitting on ocean floor.
The amazing images were taken 12,500 feet below the surface and also show its boiler, which went to the bottom when the liner split in half after sinking on its maiden voyage in 1912.
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OceanGate Expeditions shared a clip of their footage from the Titanic this week.
The video was shot in 8000 pixels resolution which allows zooming in on specific areas without losing image quality.
In the one-minute-long reel, viewers can see a close-up of the 110-year-old ship’s bow, portside anchor, and anchor chain, among other parts of the wreck.
“We are seeing new details in this footage,” OceanGate team member and seasoned Titanic diver Rory Golden told Geek Wire.
“For example, I had never seen the name of the anchor maker, Noah Hingley & Sons Ltd., on the portside anchor.
“I’ve been studying the wreck for decades and have completed multiple dives, and I can’t recall seeing any other image showing this level of detail.
“It is exciting that, after so many years, we may have discovered a new detail that wasn’t as obvious with previous generations of camera technologies.”
The enormous anchor is still located on the deck of the shipwreck as well as the shackle, which was originally attached to the main mast that has now collapsed.
At one point, the vessel’s solid bronze capstans also come into the field of view, as well as its hull and cargo hold.
The company’s five-man submersible transported archaeologists and paying customers to the wreck to take the footage.
Three customers– dubbed mission specialists – paid just over £215,000 for a seat on the submersible.
This new video technology will also help maritime archaeologists and scientists characterize the decay of the Titanic more precisely, said Stockton Rush, president of OceanGate Expeditions.
“Capturing this 8K footage will allow us to zoom in and still have 4K quality, which is key for large screen and immersive video projects,” he said.
Rush also noted that the colors in the 8K video footage are “phenomenal”.
The next steps for the team at OceanGate include expertly reviewing the 8K and 4K footage and then planning another expedition.
Despite the interest, trips to the wreck including filmmaker James Cameron’s famous dive in 2001 are controversial.
Experts believe salvage missions and other expeditions over the decades have further weakened the integrity hull.
The landing of craft on the wreck has caused substantial deterioration to the promenade deck.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the hull and structure of the ship is likely to collapse within the next 40 years.
The RMS Titanic was built by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast and was the largest passenger ship the world had ever seen.
It set off on its maiden voyage from Southampton on April 10, 1912, due to arrive in New York City on April 17.
But five days into the journey, it collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic with around 2,224 passengers and crew on board.
Six of the watertight compartments at the front of the ship’s hull were breached – five of them flooding within the hour.
Musicians played for two hours and five minutes as the ship sank.
At 2.20am, the Titanic broke in two sending all remaining passengers plunging into the below-freezing waters of the Atlantic.
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