Rare and never publicly seen before video of a 1986 dive through the wreckage of the Titanic has been released to mark the 25th-anniversary debut of the Academy Award-winning movie, ‘Titanic’.

Footage from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution chronicles some of the remarkable achievements of the dive led by Robert Ballard.

The expedition marked the first time human eyes had seen the giant ocean liner since it struck an iceberg and sank in the freezing North Atlantic.

The vessel met its fate on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City in April 1912 when around 1,500 people died.

The vessel now lies 2.4 miles below the surface of the ocean.

Technical limitations as well as the vast expanse of the search area in the North Atlantic made it impossible to locate the wreck.

By 1985, WHOI had developed new imaging technology, including Argo, a camera sled that was towed from the research vessel Knorr and captured the first photographs the ship beneath more than 12,400 feet of water.

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