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news 10 MTR May 2011 On April 5, 2011, the Virgin Oceanic Expedition Team confirmed Danish shipping company Maersk Line as the official shipping and research partner of the Virgin Oceanic ‘Five Dives’ expedition. The ini- tiative is headed by Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, and the American explorer and sailor Chris Welsh. The five dives to the bottom of the world’s oceans will be carried out by Sir Richard Branson and Chris Welsh who will each man an inno- vative new-built deep dive submarine, subject to receipt of all required regulatory approvals. The deep- est dive will take the adventurer 36,000 feet down to the bottom of the Mariana Trench after which he will be able to ‘fly’ six miles across the Trench floor. The dives will run over a period of two years, after which the submarine will be donated to a U.S. museum. Deep Challenger Dives • Dive 1 - Mariana Trench, Pacific Ocean • Dive 2 – Diamantina Trench, Indian Ocean • Dive 3 – Puerto Rico Trench, Atlantic Ocean • Dive 4 – Molloy Deep, Arctic Ocean • Dive 5 – South Sandwich Trench, Southern Ocean “The Five Dives expedition is a unique and exciting opportunity for Maersk Line to support scientific ocean research. It is well aligned with our aspirations on improving the understanding of the state of the world’s oceans” says Eskild Lund Sorensen, Head of Marine Stewardship, Maersk Line. Maersk Line has contributed to the funding of the scientific equipment used in the expedition to collect and analyze samples from the submarine dives and catamaran voyages. Maersk Line’s sponsorship may also include the transportation of the submarine and other equipment for the expedition, subject to receipt of all required regulatory approvals. The expedition embarks from San Diego in the summer with the first dive taking place off the coast of Guam in the Mariana Trench. Over the course of approximately two years the team will uncover the deepest trenches of the Indian, Atlantic, Arctic and Southern Oceans. www.virginoceanic.com Maersk Line Joins World Oceans Expedition (Photo Cour tesy V i r gin Oceanic) A late 1950s artwork, depicting Trieste operating on the deep ocean floor. (U.S. NHHC Photograph. www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-t/trste.htm Photo Courtesy Virgin Oceanic)
