Advertisement For most it would bring back terrible memories of the scene from Jaws when the immortal line 'you're going to need a bigger boat' was uttered. But when a team of divers spotted the largest great white shark on the planet they only hesitated to grab their cameras before they jumped into the sea. The enormous predator named Deep Blue is up to 50 years old, weights 2.5 tons and measures 20ft long. It was drawn to the water around Hawaii for what one diver described as an 'all you can eat buffet' - to feed on a dead sperm whale. Deep Blue was last spotted in Mexico in 2013 where it was fitted with a tracker which is how divers were able to identify it this time. Conservation photographer Juan Oliphant was one of the divers who took the plunge along with with marine biologist Ocean Ramsey Ocean Ramsey swimming with Deep Blue in photos shot by Juan Oliphant after it was spotted in the water off Oahu on Sunday by Kimberly Jeffries. Deep Blue became an icon several years ago during Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, through her remarkable size and age. She is 20 feet long and thought to be 50 years old. Pictures show the pair getting remarkably close to the deadly animal It's likely that Deep Blue grew so big simply because of her age. Before being spotted in Hawaii, the great white was caught on video in July 2018 near Guadalupe Island, off the west coast of Mexico. It was spotted feeding on the carcass of a whale Divers could identify her as 'Deep Blue' thanks to a tag she was implanted with when she appeared off the coast of Mexico two decades ago. Deep Blue is thought to be around 20ft long according to scientists who have previously encountered the predator, around the same height as a fully-grown giraffe Remarkable photos shot by Oliphant show him and Ramsey swimming right next to the enormous predator. Posting on Instagram shortly after the swim, Oliphant wrote: 'Face to face with the worlds largest great white ever recorded 'Deep Blue' with @oceanramsey. 'I'm still in shock that we spent almost the whole day with this amazing animal in my backyard. 'I hope my conservation images like this help people to question their perceptions and realize the beauty, and importance of sharks and I hope that they inspire the kind of compassion and connection we need to have with nature and sharks, to help protect them and coexist alongside them.' Another diver who swam with Deep Blue. Kimberly Jeffries, wrote: 'If you asked me a few days ago what the most amazing thing I've ever seen in Hawaiian waters the answer probably would be pretty different. 'If you asked me yesterday the answer would be freediving with Deep Blue, a great white, the largest ever documented, who was last seen in 2013 in Mexico. 'If you asked me right now, it would be freediving with, interacting with and photographing not one but multiple, different great whites AND Deep Blue.' Great White Breakfast Posted by Kimberly Jeffries on Wednesday, 16 January 2019 Video shot by the photographer Kimberly Jeffries and posted on Facebook shows a different great white feeding on the dead sperm whale before Deep Blue arrived. A shark believed to be 'Deep Blue' was last spotted in footage captured by shark researcher Mauricio Hoyos Padilla off Mexico's Guadalupe Island in 2013 Padilla's remarkable footage from 2013 shows the stealthy predator lurking in the deep while attempting to catch prey Footage of Deep Blue was also captured back in 2013 by shark researcher Mauricio Hoyos Padilla off Mexico's Guadalupe Island. Great white sharks: Feared predators of the deep Great white sharks have such a strong sense of smell that they can detect a colony of seals two miles away Great whites give birth to up to ten 'pups' but mothers will eat them if they don't swim off fast enough They swim at up to 37mph at full pelt and burst out of the water from below their prey They attack 5-10 humans every year but usually just take a 'sample bite' out of curiosity before swimming off Great whites can live to up to 70 years old They are colored white underneath to make them harder to see from below with sunlight shining down They have several rows of teeth that can number into the thousands As their teeth fall out they are replaced by razor sharp teeth in the row behind Advertisement The video shows the enormous apex predator swimming near researchers in steel cages, with one bold enough to be swimming outside the protection of the protective metal bars. The massive predator was also featured back in 2014 in a Shark Week documentary, when researchers tagged the gigantic fish. Great whites, the largest predatory fish on earth, typically grow to 15 feet in length, with some, like Deep Blue, exceeding 20 feet in length and weighing up to 5,000 pounds, according to National Geographic. German tourist Michael Maier also described filming the predator during a 2014 trip to Mexico. Mr Maier, 48, said: 'Deep Blue is a very large female shark and she is known to be found in Mexico. When we entered the water we had to wait because there was nothing to see. 'All of a sudden out of the deep blue, there she came. We realised almost immediately that she was very big. 'She was very calm and not at all nervous and was circling us. She was very interested and was looking at us. 'During the circles we realised just how big she was - she must have been something like seven metres long. Everything was very well prepared. The whole team felt safe. 'We had a very long beautiful dive with her and we were all very much enthusiastic about the encounter.' George Burgess, director emeritus of the International Shark Attack File at Florida Museum of Natural History, told ABC News: 'It's a very big white shark, obviously. 'One of the largest that has ever been seen in the water.<doc-sep>“If you asked me a few days ago what the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in Hawaiian waters the answer probably would be pretty different,” Jeffries posted. “If you asked me yesterday the answer would be freediving with Deep Blue, a great white, the largest ever documented, who was last seen in 2013 in Mexico.”<doc-sep>Some divers in Hawaii are gonna need a bigger boat. A nearly 20-foot-long shark named "Deep Blue," believed to be the largest great white shark on record, was filmed Tuesday in a rare sighting off the coast of Oahu, swimming right up next to some divers. The 50-year-old beast is seen in the video gliding through the water with its massive fins, flashing its razor-sharp teeth for the camera. Ocean Ramsey, a marine biologist and swimsuit model, got to check out Deep Blue up close, petting the shark and even holding its fin. She spoke to Inside Edition about the close encounter. "She was one of the most gentle great whites I have ever encountered," Ramsey said. "And I've been working with great whites for over 10 years. She's just like a big grandma shark. And by big, I mean massive." Ramsey told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that she and the divers spotted Deep Blue while watching other sharks feed off the carcass of a sperm whale offshore. "She was just this big beautiful gentle giant wanting to use our boat as a scratching post," Ramsey said. "We went out at sunrise, and she stayed with us pretty much throughout the day.” The scientist added that the animal is "shockingly wide" and may be pregnant. Great whites grow to an average length of 15 feet, according to National Geographic. They are the largest predatory fish in the world and typically found in cool, coastal waters. RELATED STORIES<doc-sep>The video will auto-play soon 8 Cancel Get email updates with the day's biggest stories Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice A monster great white shark dubbed 'Deep Blue' is thought to be the biggest ever caught on camera. The beautiful ocean beast was snapped off the coast of Hawaii on Tuesday, dwarfing a diver she swam next to. Deep Blue is thought to be around 50 years old and measures slightly less than 20ft long. Experts believe she is the largest ever seen - and has survived despite the often life-limiting harm pollution, hunting and fishing have had on the animals' life-spans. (Image: REUTERS) George Burgess, director emeritus of the International Shark Attack File at Florida Museum of Natural History, told ABC News: "It's a very big white shark, obviously. "One of the largest that has ever been seen in the water. (Image: REUTERS) "I'm not sure it's 20ft, I suspect it's a little less than that. Perhaps 18, 19 feet, if I were to guess. She's a big girl." The shark was nicknamed Deep Blue by expert Mauricio Hoyos Padilla, who has dived with the creature as part of a Sharl Week documentary for the Discovery channel. (Image: REUTERS) In 2015 Padilla was filmed reaching his hands out of a protective, metal shark cage and touching the fin of the stunning creature. At the time, he believed Deep Blue was pregnant. Every year, there are around 70-100 shark attacks recorded worldwide, resulting in an estimated 5-15 deaths.<doc-sep>
The largest great white shark ever recorded doesn't sound like an inviting diving companion, but some incredibly brave scuba divers decided hanging out with the toothy monster was just their kind of thing, and it went... well, it went fine. It wasn't entirely a coincidence, of course, and the divers weren't tourists. They were there to observe shark behavior around the carcass of a dead sperm whale. There were plenty of regular customers, according to researcher Ocean Ramsey, before this creature created a disturbance in the force. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website Ramsey spoke to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser about the experience: ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website “We saw a few tigers and then she came up and all the other sharks split, and she started brushing up against the boat,” Ramsey said in a phone interview that evening, her voice trembling with exhilaration and exhaustion after swimming with the shark all day. “She was just this big beautiful gentle giant wanting to use our boat as a scratching post. We went out at sunrise, and she stayed with us pretty much throughout the day.” That's right, this great white straight out of a Jason Statham movie is apparently the apex predator equivalent of a teddy bear. No, seriously, Ocean Ramsey tells the Star-Advertiser this giant is "probably the most gentle great white I’ve ever seen. Big pregnant females are actually the safest ones to be with, the biggest oldest ones, because they’ve seen it all — including us." Ramsey says she has encountered this giant before and calls her "Deep Blue." That charming nickname goes along with the researcher's contention the shark is "like, a grandma shark." To be clear, Ocean Ramsey is a serious shark expert, and she and her dive team had a permit from the NOAA to be there. She says non-professionals need to be wary, as some recreational boaters near "Deep Blue" found out the hard way. According to Ramsey, Blue "sort of gently mouthed" one of the inflatable boats "and those people left shortly after that." Not to contradict an expert like Ramsey, but how does a 20-foot great white "gently mouth" anything? We're not talking about a 20-foot golden retriever. Say hello to Grandma Warner Bros. It's anti-climactic, discovering that the most monstrous great white ever seen is kind of a big sweetheart. Jason Statham would be disappointed.