He dedicated his life to exploring the Titanic. Now the owners of the salvage rights will honor him
The company that owns the rights to salvage the wreck of the Titanic is holding a virtual memorial for one of the world’s leading experts on the ship a month after he died along with four others in a sinking explosion.
Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, died when the submersible Titan entered the deep waters of the North Atlantic on June 18 to explore the Titanic – something Nargeolet had done dozens of times before. Investigators believe the submersible, owned by a private company, exploded while descending, killing everyone on board.
Nargeolet is the director of underwater research for RMS Titanic Inc., an Atlanta-based company that owns the rights to salvage the world’s most famous shipwreck. The company said in a social media post that it is holding a memorial service for Nargeolet that will be publicly streamed worldwide on Wednesday.
RMS Titanic Inc. said the memorial will “provide an outlet for Titanic and oceanographic communities around the world to remember our colleagues and friends, and to express our grief together. ” The event comes a day after the company opened an exhibition in Paris displaying thousands of artifacts from the wreckage of the Titanic.
“Many of the artifacts on display have been restored or restored under the supervision of Paul-Henri Nargeolet and his dedicated team. An intrepid explorer with an indomitable pioneering spirit, PH has bravely ventured deep into the ocean to unravel its mysteries and educate the public,” the company said in a post on Facebook. social network.
Representative of RMS Titanic Inc. did not respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press. The company says on its website that Nargeolet, whom it calls “PH,” will “always be in our hearts and thoughts” and is “a true explorer of his time.” “.
Nargeolet is a former French naval officer who is remembered by his friends as one of the world’s great undersea explorers. He led the expedition to salvage the first Titanic in the late 1980s, not long after the last wreck was discovered.
Also killed in the explosion was pilot Stockton Rush, founder of OceanGate Inc., the company that owned the submersible; two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood; and British explorer Hamish Harding.
The explosion is still being investigated by multiple authorities, including the US Coast Guard. The Coast Guard convened a Maritime Investigation Board, its highest level of investigation, and said it would hold a public hearing in the future.
OceanGate, based in Everett, Washington, announced earlier this month that it was suspending all operations. Its website was shut down on Wednesday in favor of a page confirming the suspension.
