Who are Larry Connor and Patrick Lahey? Billionaire and Triton Submarines co-founder plan voyage to Titanic, a year after implosion

Billionaire Larry Connor recently collaborated with diver and submersible expert, Patrick Lahey, to build a submersible that would travel below the North Atlantic Ocean. While Larry is spending around $20 million on the entire project, a date for the expedition is yet to be confirmed.

Times Now states that Larry Connor has been involved with the world of real estate for a long time and is the head of the real estate investment company, Connor Group. On the other hand, Patrick Lahey is the CEO and co-founder of Triton Submarines.

Apart from being a businessman, Larry Connor is a private astronaut, and back in 2021, he was a part of the Axiom Mission 1. He was in space for 17 days, 1 hour and 48 minutes.

Meanwhile, Lahey is the developer of a submersible that can travel to the bottom of the ocean. Furthermore, his company is tasked with looking after the operations of the manufacturing factories in Florida and Barcelona.

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Larry Connor is aiming to prove that the expedition can happen despite the OceanGate incident

Larry Connor addressed his plans while speaking to The Wall Street Journal on May 26, 2024. He revealed that Patrick Lahey began planning for the journey around five years ago but they were falling short of some important resources.

Larry disclosed Lahey's vessel name, which is Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer, and added:

"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."

The news of the new expedition comes almost a year after the OceanGate submersible Titan's incident, which unexpectedly imploded while traveling to the wreckage spot of the Titanic. It resulted in the deaths of five people, including the founder of the company, Stockton Rush.

Patrick Lahey's vehicle has been featured on the website of his company.

Following the implosion of the OceanGate submersible, Lahey was approached by Larry Connor to develop a better vehicle. Connor was prioritizing building a vehicle that could go on an expedition multiple times.

Patrick recalled his conversation with Larry, who described Titan as a "contraption, and said:

"He called me up and said, '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.'"

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Patrick Lahey's friend lost his life in the submersible

Following the OceanGate submersible incident, Patrick Lahey appeared for an interview with The New York Times in June 2023, where he revealed that Stockton Rush frequently attempted to convince people that the vehicle was safe despite knowing the risks involved.

Notably, Lahey even addressed his concern to Paul-Henri Nargeolet, one of the passengers of Titan and his close friend. Referring to Nargeolet, Patrick said:

"He understood. I believe PH thought in some way that by being out there he could help these guys avoid a tragedy, but, instead, he ended up in the middle of one."

Britannica states that the Titan submersible went missing on June 18 after being launched on June 16, 2023, from St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. The search for the vehicle started on June 19 and the debris of the Titan was found on June 22.