Paul-Henri Nargeolet (Mr. Titanic) Wiki/Bio, Age, Wife, Family, Net Worth, Missing & More

Paul-Henri “PH” Nargeolet (born 2 March 1946; missing since 18 June 2023) is a renowned French deep-sea explorer and expert on the Titanic. Widely known as “Mr. Titanic,” Nargeolet was among the five individuals aboard the Titan, which has been reported missing near the Titanic wreckage site since 18 June.

Paul-Henry Nargeolet BIO/WIKI

Paul-Henri Nargeolet (Mr. Titanic) Disappearance

On June 18, 2023, Paul-Henri Nargeolet disappeared along with Hamish Harding , Stockton Rush and Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman Dawood, disappeared in a submersible en route to the wreck of the Titanic in an incident 

Personal Life

Born on 2 March 1946 in Chamonix, France, Paul-Henri Nargeolet grew up in the French department of Haute-Savoie.[3]: 1  At the age of 16, he relocated to Paris to pursue his studies after spending 13 years in Casablanca.

In 2017, Nargeolet’s wife, U.S. television reporter Michele Marsh, passed away. However, his connection with a childhood friend was reestablished, and they have been life partners ever since, thanks to their shared interest in the Titanic.

French Navy

Nargeolet’s career began in the French Navy, where he served as an officer specializing in mine clearance, diving, and deep-sea interventions from 1964 to 1986.[9] During the 1970s, he held the position of Commander of the Groupement de Plongeurs Démineurs de Cherbourg, responsible for locating and disabling submerged mines.[3]: 1  Later, in the 1980s, he joined the Underwater Intervention Group (GISMER), where he piloted intervention submarines.[3]: 1  Throughout his tenure, he embarked on numerous international missions to retrieve sunken French aircraft, including the individuals and weapons aboard them. Notably, he discovered a Roman wreck at a depth of 70 meters and located a DHC-5 Buffalo that crashed in 1979 with 12 passengers, including members of the Mauritanian government.

IFREMER

In 1986, the French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea (IFREMER) approached Nargeolet to undertake diving expeditions to the Titanic wreck, a task he eagerly accepted.[3]: 2  Between 1987 and 1996, Nargeolet piloted dives to the Titanic wreckage site on behalf of IFREMER, with missions in 1987, 1993, 1994, and 1996.[3]: 2  The 1987 expedition marked the first collection of artifacts from the wreck.

During his involvement with IFREMER, Nargeolet also discovered various aircraft submerged at sea. A notable find occurred on 15 May 1993 when he chanced upon La Lune [fr], a ship that sank in 1664 near Toulon, during a dive with the Nautile.

Center for Maritime & Underwater Resource Management Starting in 1994, Nargeolet assumed the role of director at Michigan State University’s Center for Maritime & Underwater Resource Management (CMURM).

Aqua+

From 1996 to 2003, Nargeolet collaborated with Aqua+, a subsidiary of Canal+, focused on producing underwater films. During his tenure, he directed underwater missions involving two submarines.[3]:

Premier Exhibitions, Inc.

In August 2007, RMS Titanic, Inc., a subsidiary of Premier Exhibitions that organizes traveling exhibitions, engaged Nargeolet to locate the RMS Carpathia. This ship had rescued survivors of the RMS Titanic but was subsequently torpedoed in 1918.

Since then, Nargeolet has served as the Director of the Underwater Research Program for RMS Titanic, Inc., overseeing the recovery of Titanic-related artifacts. His efforts have involved utilizing remotely operated vehicles (ROV) and conducting dives to the wreck site. Over the course of 35 dives, he has successfully recovered nearly 6,000 artifacts.[3][6] In 2010, Nargeolet was part of a mission to 3D map the wreck site and assess its deterioration using ROVs and autonomous underwater robots.[3]: 2  Additionally, in 2010, he participated in the search for the flight recorder of Air France Flight 447, which had crashed the previous year during its route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.[3]: 2

Other Contributions

As an esteemed expert on the RMS Titanic, Nargeolet has played a crucial role in the production of two documentaries: “Titanic: The Legend Lives On” (1994) and “Deep Inside the Titanic” (1999).

In 2022, Nargeolet released his book titled “Dans les profondeurs du Titanic” (English: “In the Depths of the Titanic”), which provides an account of his expeditions.[6]

Titan Expedition

Main article: 2023 Titan submersible incident During June 2023, Nargeolet was among the team aboard the Titan, a vessel owned by OceanGate, Inc., on a mission to explore the Titanic wreckage. However, contact with the surface ship, the Polar Prince, was lost on 18 June, and the Titan has been missing since then.[5] Extensive search-and-rescue efforts have been conducted, involving water and air support from the United States, Canada, and France.

Works

“Dans les profondeurs du Titanic.” HarperCollins, Paris 2022, ISBN 979-1-03-390984-2 (French edition)

Facts about Paul-Henry Nargeolet

• Nicknamed “Mr. Titanic” due to his extensive experience and knowledge of the shipwreck.
• Holds several world records for diving to extreme depths, including reaching 6,000 meters (19,685 feet) in Nautile and 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) in Titan.
• Possesses a collection of over 10,000 books on the Titanic and other maritime subjects.
• Fluent in French, English, Spanish, and Russian.
• Enjoys skiing and climbing and has successfully conquered several peaks in the Alps.