US' Victor Vescovo becomes first person to touch all four world's deepest ocean trenches

Victor Vescovo, a former US Navy commander touched the bottom of the Kermadec Trench in the South Pacific Ocean, which is the fourth deepest ocean trench. In his latest adventure on December 13, Vescovo reached a depth of 10,012 meters in an expedition that lasted for nine hours.

With this achievement, the ex-officer is officially the first person to have touched all four deepest points in the ocean. 

The first human dive in the fourth deepest ocean point

Vescovo made the dive inside the DSV Limiting Factor, a dual-seated module developed by Triton Submarines, a company based in Florida. The 55-year-old shared glimpses of his expedition through Twitter where he shed some light on the geology and the marine life in the deepest waters. “Just completed the first human dive to the bottom of the Kermadec Trench, the 4th-deepest trench in the world, northeast of New Zealand. The preliminary maximum depth reached, according to submersible instruments, was 10,012 meters. Rather chaotic geology and marine life”, Vescovo wrote on his Twitter post.

Interestingly, the cameras fitted on the Limiting Factor module also captured visuals of the underground world featuring a “comb” jellyfish which is “one of the deepest ever seen on film”, as per Vescovo. The jellyfish was spotted at a depth of approximately 10,003 metres, meaning it is able to survive over 7 tons per square inch of pressure in the trench. “At the bottom of the Kermadec Trench, the sub's cameras caught one of the deepest jellyfish ever seen on film. Observation depth of ~10,003 meters. Appears to be a "comb" jelly and somehow surviving over 7 tons psi of pressure. (I know, sadly, the camera feed 'stutters' once.)”, read Vescovo’s tweet.

Replying to a user on how the creature is alive in such a condition, Vescovo said on Twitter, “They would probably say the same about us: "How can humans live in an environment with so little pressure?" Every creature adapts to their environment. Evolution is a power thing”.

With the Kermadec Trench being his newest achievement, Voscovo has also visited the Earth’s deepest point- Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench (10,925 metres), Horizon Deep in the Pacific’s Tonga Trench (10,817 metres), and the Emden Deep in the Philippine Trench (10,045 metres), the third deepest point.

Image: Twitter/@VictorVescovo