New 8K video footage showcases Titanic shipwreck in stunning detail

Titanic is by far the most famous historical shipwreck, still holding an enduring fascination for the public 100 years after the "unsinkable" ship struck an iceberg and sank in April 1912. We've seen images and video footage of the wreck since it was discovered in the mid 1980s. That includes the footage shot by director James Cameron in 1995 for sequences featured in his blockbuster 1997 film—although much of the latter was actually miniature models and special effects filmed on a set, since Cameron couldn't get the high-quality footage he needed for a feature film.

Now a private company called OceanGate Expeditions has released a one-minute video showcasing the first 8k video footage of the wreck of the Titanic, showing some of its features in new, vivid detail. One can make out the name of the anchor manufacturer (Noah Hingley & Sons Ltd.) for instance, and the footage also gives us a better look at the bow, hull number one, the number-one cargo hold, solid bronze capstans, and one of the single-ended boilers. The video has already racked up nearly 3 million views on YouTube, even though the average TV or computer screen has much lower resolution than the 8K footage.

The footage was shot during the company's 2022 descent, with guests forking over $250,000 apiece for a seat on the submersible. "No public entity is going to fund going back to the Titanic," OceanGate President Stockton Rush told The New York Times in defense of the steep price tag for what is essentially deep-sea tourism. "There are other sites that are newer and probably of greater scientific value."