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Crew To Explore Andrea Doria Wreckage Off Nantucket With Submarine

NANTUCKET (CBS) – An ocean exploration company will use a manned submarine to explore the wreckage of the Andrea Doria off of Nantucket.

Seven divers have died in the area since 2005 while exploring the wreckage.

Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, said his company's use of a manned submarine to explore the area does not eliminate danger, but does make it safer than a standard dive.

"We like to equate going in a sub is like being in an armored vehicle versus walking out in your shorts and a hat," Rush told WBZ NewsRadio 1030.

Crews will leave for the exploration on Thursday and expect to remain in the area through June 9.

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The wreckage of the Andrea Doria, as seen in 1956. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

Rush added that his team is not going to be taking artifacts from the ship. Instead they plan to take 3D and high definition images that divers would be otherwise unable to take.

The submarine will allow divers to explore for about three hours at a time.

"The Andrea Doria has been decaying rapidly," Rush said. "This expedition and subsequent we hope to come back annually."

The wreckage sits in about 240 feet of water. The ship sank in 1956 following a collision with a Swedish vessel.

At least 51 people died when the ship sank.

Among the multiple divers who have died while exploring the wreckage in the ensuing years was a 64-year-old man who went missing during a search in July 2015.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Laurie Kirby reports

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