One year after the catastrophic Titan sub implosion shocked the world, a billionaire adventurer is preparing a $20 million submersible mission to the Titanic wreck — determined to prove that exploring the ocean’s depths can be done safely. His bold plan comes as questions still linger over whether humanity should continue venturing into such perilous waters.

Real estate mogul Larry Connor, whose net worth exceeds $2 billion, is refusing to let fear dictate the future of deep-sea exploration. Days after the 2023 OceanGate disaster, Connor picked up the phone and contacted Patrick Lahey, the CEO of Triton Submarines. His request was audacious: build a submersible that could repeatedly dive to Titanic-level depths and demonstrate to the world that safe voyages are possible.

The timing was striking. On June 18, 2023, OceanGate’s experimental sub Titan lost contact with its support vessel, the Polar Prince, less than two hours into a Titanic expedition 12,500 feet below the surface. Onboard were OceanGate founder Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French navy veteran Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood with his teenage son Suleman. Four days later, investigators confirmed the sub had suffered a catastrophic implosion, instantly killing everyone aboard.

The tragedy made global headlines, casting a dark shadow over private deep-sea tourism. OceanGate suspended all future expeditions, while critics questioned whether Titanic dives should ever be attempted again. Lahey himself labeled Rush’s business model “predatory,” arguing that OceanGate cut corners on safety and design.

Yet Connor insists exploration should not end with Titan’s implosion. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, he declared: “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 and Lahey are now collaborating on a state-of-the-art vessel — the Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer. With a price tag of around $20 million, the two-person sub is engineered to reach 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) below sea level, deeper than the Titanic’s resting place at 3,800 meters. Unlike the ill-fated Titan, Triton’s model relies on proven materials and technology that, according to Lahey, simply weren’t available even five years ago.

“Patrick has been thinking about and designing this for over a decade,” Connor explained. “But we didn’t have the materials and technology. You couldn’t have built this sub five years ago.”

The mission, still awaiting an official launch date, is bound to be controversial. Many experts argue that Titanic expeditions exploit a gravesite and pose unnecessary risks to crews and rescuers. Yet for Connor, the journey represents more than personal ambition — it’s about reshaping public trust in underwater exploration.

Lahey confirmed Connor’s determination from the very beginning: “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.’”

Whether Connor’s bold voyage will reignite excitement for deep-ocean travel or spark fresh debates about risk and ethics remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: in the wake of the Titan disaster, every eye will be watching when the Abyssal Explorer makes its descent.