The first full-size digital scan of the Titanic, providing a full 3D reconstruction of the world’s most famous shipwreck, was revealed on Wednesday (May 17), more than 38 years after its discovery.
The unique model is expected to pioneer evidence-based research into what conspired in 1912, reported the BBC. Speaking to the UK’s national broadcaster, Parks Stephenson, a Titanic analyst said: “There are still questions, basic questions, that need to be answered about the ship… (it is) one of the important first steps to boost the Titanic story toward evidence-based research, not speculation.”
Since the wreckage was discovered in 1938, the Titanic has seen decades of exploration, yet the ship, lying 12,500 feet deep in the Atlantic, was only seen through snapshots. The new scan captures the wreck in its entirety, revealing a complete view.
More than 200 hours, 700,000 images later
Magellan Ltd, a deep-sea mapping company, conducted the scan in 2022. The submersibles, controlled remotely by a team aboard a specialized vessel, spent more than 200 hours surveying the length and breadth of the wreck. , reported the BBCadding that they captured more than 700,000 images from all angles to create the 3D model.
Magellan’s Gerhard Seiffert, who led the planning of the expedition, told the BBC“Its depth, almost 4,000m, represents a challenge, and there are also currents at the site, and we are not allowed to touch anything so as not to damage the wreck.”
Parks Stephenson, an analyst who has been studying the wreck for years, said the scans now show “the true state of the wreck”.
“It allows you to see the wreck like you could never see it from a submersible, and you can see it in its entirety, you can see it in context and perspective. And what it shows you now is the true state of the wreck,” Stephenson said.
“We really don’t understand the character of the collision with the iceberg. We don’t even know if he hit it on the starboard side, as shown in all the movies; it could have landed on the iceberg,” he explained.
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