On July 26, 1956, the Italian luxury liner Andrea Doria sank to the seafloor in one of the most well-known shipwrecks in history. Now, explorers are attempting to get a good look at the wreckage on the seafloor.
Everett-based exploration company OceanGate is planning the first manned submersible expedition to the wreck in 20 years. Next month, this company will utilize its five-man submersible Cyclops I to get high definition video and 3-D sonar images of the shipwreck. This revolutionary technology has never been used to study this well-known maritime disaster.
On the day of the incident, the Italian luxury liner was heading to New York when the collision occurred on a foggy night. The other ship involved in the collision was the Swedish ship Stockholm, which was going back to Europe. The Stockholm ripped a gash in the hull of the Andrea Doria. And the Andrea Doria then began to list, and some of its lifeboats became unusable. Five people on the Stockholm died, while 46 crew members and passengers on the Andrea Soria died. Over 1,600 other people were rescued as the Italian ship took 11 hours to sink.
The wreck occurred about 50 miles south of Nantucket in about 240 feet of water. For years, treasure-hunting divers have visited this site searching for money, china and artifacts from the past. Sixteen of these divers have died in their attempts. The Andrea Doria has been compared to Mount Everest. Just as the world's tallest peak is alluring and dangerous to mountaineers, the Andrea Doria has a similar appeal to divers.
According to OceanGate marketing director Joel Perry, one reason this is so dangerous is the depth and the risk of nitrogen narcosis. Nitrogen narcosis is a condition in which too much nitrogen builds up in the blood, thus clouding the person’s judgement. The depth adds danger because visibility is poor and currents are unpredictable. There are also a lot of protrusions that can snag a diver.
Due to its depth, divers can only explore the wreck for about 20 minutes. The Cyclops I will be able to stay down for hours. It has an interior about the size of a Chevrolet Suburban. OceanGate plans to do two three-hour dives per day for one week. The mission will occur from June 2 to June 9. OceanGate is doing this expedition in order to document and observe, rather than to collect artifacts.
This expedition is being conducted with the assistance of Boston Harbor Cruises, which will provide the operational vessel, and iXBlue, which will provide navigation services. The Andrea Doria is quickly decaying, and the technology used in this expedition can help to build a 3-D map of the wreck. This highly accurate rendering can be used by scientists to compare with future decay.
These findings could also be significant for studying other shipwrecks. There are thousands of shipwrecks all around the world that need to be explored, and this expedition could be the first step.
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