A Titanic rip-off ? Travel firm cashes in on tragic centenary to offer trips to wreck

By Sebastian Lander - Daily Mail

The site where the fateful Titanic sunk in the Atlantic Ocean looks set to be a busy area next year as travel companies cash in and mark a century since the tragedy.

While two cruises - set to trace the exact journey of the Titanic, even hovering above the site where it sank 100 years ago on April 14 at 2.20am - have already sold out, another travel company has gone a step further, charging an eye-watering $66,257 (£41,784) to dive down to the wreck itself.

The 15-day 'exclusive' dive expedition - scheduled to take place from June to August next year - will offer Titanic 'fans' the chance to see the ship's eerie remains 12,500ft below the surface of the Atlantic.

The controversial voyage is offered by Kensington Tours and embarks from St. John's in Newfoundland, Canada, 329 miles from where the ship ran into trouble.

Titanic enthusiasts will take a submarine trip to explore the remains of the ship which famously struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on April 15 1912. Dubbed the 'unsinkable' ship, it went down in under three hours, killing 1,517 passengers and crew of the 2,224 on board.

The wreck lay undiscovered on the ocean floor until 1985, when an American-French expedition pinpointed its final resting place south-east of Newfoundland.

The Kensington Tours itinerary starts with time in Halifax, Nova Scotia, which takes in a permanent exhibition, the pier from where ships were sent to rescue victims and Fairview Cemetery, where over 120 victims now lie.

From there, guests will travel to St. John's, attending an 'introductory expedition dinner' before going aboard the dive expedition ship which takes them to the site in the Atlantic Ocean, where they will spend seven days.

The group's arrival at the site will be 'marked by a short ceremony to commemorate the loss of this fine ship' before diving starts.

Participants will enjoy a deep-sea dive - during the day or at night - down to the wreck in a Russian MIR submersible dive unit, which is able to plunge to depths of up to 20,000 feet (6,090m).

There will be lectures and briefings to prepare travellers and orientation sessions, plus films and presentations from experts. The journey down to the ocean floor takes around two and a half hours.

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