Inspecting the most famous sunken luxury liner wreck with Ifremer with ROVs

In 1985, Exail (then ECA Group) got involved in the inspection of the Titanic wreck

The TITANIC venture commenced in September 1985 with the discovery of the wreck of the luxury liner by a joint Franco-American exploration mission. Led by IFREMER, the French Institute for Research and Exploration of the Sea, the mission was conducted in cooperation with the Woods Hole Institute from the USA. The wreck was located at a depth of 3,800 meters in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Following this discovery, HYTEC (subsidiary of ECA GROUP - now Exail) was awarded a contract by IFREMER to design and build an ROV (named ROBIN) capable of operating at depths of up to 6,000 meters. The ROV was designed to reach a depth of 6,000 m, which was unprecedented at the time.

Its purpose was to serve as a tender to the already available NAUTILE submarine, which is operational at that depth but much too large to enter into a wreck. Additionally, the video cameras onboard the NAUTILE were also designed and manufactured by HYTEC

This contract, which was signed at the end of November 1985, presented two further challenges:

  • The ROV had to be fully operational by June 1986, in time for the planned inspection of the TITANIC wreck by IFREMER for July of the same year. HYTEC therefore had less than six months to design, build, and test a 6,000m depth-rated ROV system
  • The ROV system was required to be compact, as it was to be transported by the NAUTILE in its frontal niche (comparable to a kangaroo poach) and powered and controlled from the submarine.
    Exail ressources customer story inspection of titnic wreck nautile

The NAUTILE was a manned underwater vehicle which was notably in charge to transport, supply and control the small ROV ROBIN during the inspection of the Titanic.

Indeed, ROBIN was designed/built with dimensions of only 60 x 50 x 50 cm, and a weight in air of only 130 kg ; it was equipped with a colour TV camera, coupled with a still camera (for the inspection task), and with two low light black & white cameras devoted to the navigation of the ROV.

All cameras were of the CCD type, a technology which had been very recently discovered, and for which HYTEC was a pioneer at that time, since it replaced the sturdy/heavy tube TV cameras which had been prevailing on the market so far.

Exail ressources customer story inspection of titnic wreck robin

ROBIN, the small ROV designed by HYTEC which took part in the inspection of the Titanic.

The Titanic mission

In May 1986, the ROBIN prototype underwent a series of successful trials at sea, demonstrating HYTEC's ability to rapidly respond to the demands of the market for cutting-edge technology.

Unfortunately, IFREMER had to cancel the inspection project in June 1986 due to financial constraints. Unlike its American counterpart, the French Institute is wholly reliant on private funding, and was unable to secure sufficient sponsors.

Subsequently, the Woods Hole Institute conducted the inaugural dives and video inspection of the wreck during the summer of 1986. However, their manned submarine was not equipped with manipulator arms, which prevented them from retrieving any samples from the wreckage.

In early 1987, IFREMER negotiated an agreement with Ocean Research Exploration Ltd., a British-registered consortium of private investors from around the globe. The consortium was willing to finance the operation in exchange for exclusive rights to all images, videos, and retrieved objects from the mission. IFREMER accepted the proposal, stipulating that all recovered objects would be transferred to a museum and/or exhibited globally. Furthermore, the agreement prohibited the sale of these items on the open market. ORE accepted these terms.

The financial agreement enabled IFREMER to undertake a 54-day expedition (with three operators on board the NAUTILE) in August 1987, which proved to be a remarkable success.

  • ROBIN conducted an in-depth examination of the interior of the Titanic, resulting in the capture of photographic and video documentation that has been disseminated globally.
  • The NAUTILE manipulators' arms retrieved a significant number of items that were situated on the seabed and were subsequently brought to the surface.

Roles with the Titanic mission

It is beneficial to clearly define the role of each organization involved in this TITANIC mission.

  • ORE was the legal owner of all images and retrieved objects, as it had chartered the entire operation.
  • IFREMER hired ORE to provide all necessary equipment for the exploration, including the mother ship NADIR, the submersible NAUTILE, the ROV ROBIN, and recovery means. The personnel responsible for overseeing the operatio.
  • Taurus International, a French management and consulting company with experience in offshore operations. They had initially sponsored the project and served as the primary liaison between IFREMER and ORE, with the authority to oversee the entire operation on behalf of ORE.

In conclusion, the venture was undoubtedly risky, but its success was instrumental in facilitating the expansion of ECA GROUP - now Exail.