His fascination with the ‘ship of dreams’ led him to create the Titanic Foundation in 2006 and he has chaired it ever since. The Galician journalist Jesús Ferreiro is one of the people who knows the most about the ocean liner in the world. Now 60 years ago he began to investigate the ‘unsinkable’. He interviewed several survivors and became close friends with one of them, Millvina Dean, whom he accompanied on her last three birthdays. When he talks about the ship, the emotion and passion he feels for the British ship can be seen. But precisely for this reason, what happened with the Titan submersible has filled him with indignation. “The passion for the Titanic does not justify the madness of going down with that device,” he explains to NIUS. “They are whims of millionaires, who want to take the photo to show it to their friends.”
The Titan imploded the same Sunday that the trail was lost. For days they were looking for what became known as ‘the Titanic submarine’. Until Thursday the worst news was confirmed. Jesús Ferreiro “never” would have gone down in that submersible. The “fascination” for the ship should not “blind us”.
Question: After what happened with the Titanic submersible, do you think that dives by companies that offer to visit the Titanic should be limited in some way?
Answer: Yes, absolutely. Tourist trips and dives like those on the Titan must be limited or prohibited. In fact, I have written a letter to the head of the Canadian Coast Guard and to the head of the United States asking them to prohibit them and that in the event that they allow them, that at least a minimum of two vehicles go. Thus, if one fails, another is in permanent communication to help. Although I am in favor of the total prohibition. It is also that there is nothing more to look at, we already know absolutely everything about the Titanic. Moreover, it is necessary to take into account that in these expeditions very little is seen, because the physical darkness at that depth is total. It looks very little and very bad. But above all, they must be prohibited because of the risk to life they pose.
Q: You have a great fascination for the Titanic, is the risk of these trips justified by that passion for the ocean liner?
A: It is not justified in any case. The passion for the Titanic does not justify going down in these circumstances and running that enormous risk. Moreover, it is necessary to take into account that in these expeditions very little is seen, because the physical darkness at that depth is total. It looks very little and very bad. But above all, they must be prohibited because of the risk to life they pose. Also, it’s not just the fascination with the Titanic, it’s that you have to keep in mind that many of those who have gone down in recent years are multimillionaires. They didn’t care if it was the Titanic or the moon. What some of them want is to take a photo in front of the Titanic to show it to their millionaire friends. For nothing else.
Q: You have been studying the Titanic for 60 years, what did you think when you began to see which companies offered to go down to the remains of the ship?
A: About three years ago I received the first news of excursions of this type. And what I thought was that it was absolutely crazy. Especially in this type of submersibles. It’s amazing that they dared to go down with that. It has nothing to do with James Cameron’s submarine, the director of the Titanic, which can go down to 11,000 meters. It is crazy that the authorities have authorized this type of immersion, without checking who is going down, in what conditions, what the submarine was like… Nobody checked anything. It was built without any official certification.
Q: What do you think about the role that OceanGate, the submersible company, has played?
A: Companies like OceanGate have taken advantage of the fascination with the Titanic. And they’ve said, instead of making a documentary and showing millionaires the Titanic, let’s take them to see it. But of course, they have done it with a submersible whose hull was 12 centimeters, when the technicians demand that it be at least 17. The one used by James Cameron was 21. The miracle was that it didn’t even implode. Everything has been crazy.
Q: And you, being the president of the Titanic Foundation and a student of the ship for decades, would you have gone down?
A: No, absolutely not. I’m afraid because I know what it is. I’ve spoken to several people on James Cameron’s team who worked with him on the film and you have to be very respectful with those dives. It doesn’t appeal to me. I prefer to see it with the good footage that has been made. In those recordings, three vehicles with spotlights get off. Going down two hours, with the risk, to see so little, it’s not worth it. I am not attracted to seeing the Titanic even though she is passionate about the ship.
Q: Since when do you have this fascination with the Titanic?
A: I am a journalist and for 30 years I had a radio program dedicated to the world of the sea called ‘Onda Pesquera’. And since the year 1963, every April 14 and 15 we dedicated the program to the Titanic and I had the opportunity to interview 9 of the survivors. But especially with the youngest of all those on board, Millvina Dean, we made a great friendship. In fact I celebrated her last three birthdays with her. And it is that, as you get into the Titanic, you stay hooked. I discovered that there was no foundation in either the United Kingdom or the United States and I decided to create one.
And there the love story of Jesús Ferreiro with the Titanic was born. Now this Galician is 80 years old and the illusion of a young man for the ‘ship of dreams’. The one that ended up in the North Atlantic and that arouses fascination throughout the world.
