On Wednesday, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) released a rare video of Titanic wreckage under the Atlantic. The video has been released after decades of discovering the wreckage of the ship that met its tragic end after hitting an iceberg. WHOI shot the video 3 kilometres (two miles) below the surface of the ocean in 1986. Most of the footage made after discovering the wreckage was never made public.
There are several documentaries that have shown brief clips of Titanic wreckage. But the video released on Wednesday was a full 80-minute video without any cuts. The video has been released on YouTube. WHOI said that it was the first time a human eye has seen the ship after 1912.
The Titanic Ship
In 1912, when Titanic made its public appearance, the ship was believed to be impregnable. However, on April 14, 1912, the world saw one of the most tragic incidents when the Titanic struck an iceberg in the Atlantic ocean during the voyage to New York from England. Over 1,500 passengers passed away in the horrific event. The lack of lifeboats on the ship resulted in large-scale destruction.
The French National Institute of Oceanography and WHOI discovered the sunken ship in the South-East of Newfoundland, Canada, on September 1, 1985. Human-operated vessels shot the clip in 11 dives in July 1986.
Re-release of Titanic by James Cameron
In 1997, James Cameron stunned the world with the epic romantic drama Titanic. The iconic characters of Rose (played by Kate Winslet) and Jack (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) still mesmerise the audience. The film won a record-breaking 11 Academy Awards.
On February 14, 2023, James Cameron re-released the movie to mark its 25th anniversary. James said that WHOI has tried to tell an important story by releasing the clip. He added that there are stories embodied in Titanic that continue to resonate with people.