"Is this really how the world is getting rid of billionaires?" - Internet in disbelief as Larry Connor plans Titanic sub mission a year after tragedy

Larry Connor, an Ohio-based real-estate investor, announced a submersible mission to the Titanic wreckage site on May 27, 2024. The announcement came less than a year after the implosion of OceanGate’s Titan submersible on June 18, 2023.

Larry Connor’s planned two-person submersible mission is worth $20 million. It aims to prove to the world that private underwater expeditions, especially to view the wreck of the Titanic, can still be carried out safely, despite last year’s tragedy.

In a statement to The Wall Street Journal, Conno said he wants to show people that although the ocean is "extremely powerful," it can also be "life-changing."

“I want to show people worldwide that while the ocean is extremely powerful, it can be wonderful and enjoyable and really kind of life-changing if you go about it the right way,” Connor told the publication.

The plan is currently underway, and Larry Connor has collaborated with Patrick Lahey, the co-founder and CEO of submersible manufacturing company Triton Submarines, for the same.

Since the news of Larry Connor’s upcoming submersible mission surfaced, the internet has had diverse reactions to it. Most people on X are either trolling the billionaire or calling him out for his daring plan.

“Is this really how the world is getting rid of billionaires?” one person asked.

“Is the goal to get as many of them down there to redistribute the wealth to the hungry, less fortunate people around the world???” another person asked.

“Ain’t no way another person wants to do this after what happened last time,” a third individual wrote.

“Hey! I’ve seen this one before!” one person wrote.

“He has the potential to do the funniest thing ever,” another person wrote.

“If he wanted to prove it was safer, he’d take his next of kin along for the ride,” a person wrote.

“Less billionaires in the world is a good thing, have at it,” an individual wrote.

“God speed,” another person wrote.

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Larry Connor’s Titanic submersible mission will be carried out in Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer

Larry Connor and Patrick Lahey are planning a two-person submersible mission to the Titanic wreckage site in a vessel that is currently being developed. The vessel is called the Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer, which is worth around $20 million. The “4000” in the name stands for the depth it can reach both “safely” and “repeatedly."

Lahey told The Wall Street Journal that Connor called him up a few days after the Titan submersible disaster last year. The billionaire reportedly told Lahey that they needed to "build a sub" that could dive to "Titanic-level depths."

“You know, what we need to do is build a sub that can dive to [Titanic-level depths] repeatedly and safely and demonstrate to the world that you guys can do that, and that Titan was a contraption," Lahey told the publication.

Notably, the Triton CEO was among the many experts who slammed OceanGate after the 2023 tragedy and raised questions about Titan’s safety standards. Patrick Lahey even called out OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush (who died in the accident) for his “quite predatory” approach to getting people onboard for his mission.

Netizens believe that he was referring to the waiver signed by the Titan passengers, which mentioned the word "experimental a few times." The waiver also stated more than one way of not making it back.

People also raised concerns about the industry’s goals and urged them to reassess carrying the common people to a remote location like the Titanic wreckage. Meanwhile, Lahey added that the problems were OceanGate’s alone, which were in no way reflective of the larger submarine/submersible industry.

He also mentioned that OceanGate’s Titan was not a “classed submersible” and that it wasn't as safe as the ones in that category. These submarines undergo “extensive testing” by certified safety groups, such as the American Bureau of Shipping, before undertaking any expeditions.

Larry Connor is also a veteran of underwater missions and has previously reached the deepest oceanic trench on Earth, called the Mariana Trench. He has been “thinking about” undertaking the Titanic mission and claimed to have been designing the vessel for "over a decade." He noted that he found the necessary “materials and technology” only recently.

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OceanGate’s Titan submersible lost communication with its mother vessel, MV Polar Prince, only 1 hour and 45 minutes into the dive on June 18, 2023. It was just off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, in the North Atlantic Ocean. When the submersible failed to resurface during the scheduled time, officials were alerted, and a search and rescue mission was undertaken.

However, after a four-day quest, a remotely operated underwater vehicle discovered debris from Titan near the Titanic wreckage site. An investigation was launched into this using the United States Navy’s sonar detection technique. It was concluded that the submersible imploded on the day of its descent, presumably due to the failure of the pressure hull.

All five passengers on board were declared dead, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a Titanic expert and French sea explorer. Hamish Harding, a businessman, along with Pakistani-British industrialist Shahzada Dawood, and his son Sulaiman were also killed.