The investigation into the implosion of the Titan submersible has revealed surprising new findings.
The latest reports indicate the falsification of communication protocols from June 2023, which were supposed to prove communication between the submersible and its mothership.
“I am certain that this is a fake transcript,” said Jason Neubauer, chairman of the Marine Board of Investigation, according to The New York Times. This information has been confirmed by the federal team investigating the disaster, who stated that there is no evidence to suggest that the passengers on the Titan were aware of the impending danger.
The Express notes that the Titan set out for the Titanic wreck on June 18, 2023. On board were five passengers: OceanGate CEO and co-founder Stockton Rush, businessman Hamish Harding, explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, businessman Shahzada Dawood, and his son Suleman Dawood. All perished in the implosion.
The Titan, which began its expedition on June 18, 2023, at six in the morning, lost communication an hour and 45 minutes into the dive and was reported missing that afternoon, approximately 700 kilometers south of St. John’s, Newfoundland, when it failed to return at the scheduled time.
Rescuers dispatched ships, aircraft, and other equipment to the submersible’s last known location. However, the last hopes of finding the crew alive were dashed when an underwater vehicle located a debris field about 490 meters from the Titanic. According to documents submitted by OceanGate to the U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Virginia, which oversees matters related to the Titanic, at least 46 people successfully traveled to the wreck in their submersible in 2021 and 2022. Nevertheless, a former employee and past passengers raised concerns about safety.
Deep-sea ecologist and marine biology lecturer at the University of Portsmouth in England, Nicolai Roterman, noted that the disappearance of the Titan highlights the dangers and unknowns of deep-sea tourism. “Even the most reliable technology can fail, and accidents will happen. With the rise in deep-sea tourism, we must expect more such incidents,” he stated.
In October 2023, the remaining wreckage of the Titan, which imploded in June on its way to the Titanic wreck, along with probable human remains, was recovered from the Atlantic Ocean floor. The BBC reported this, citing a statement from the U.S. Coast Guard. The parts of the submersible were retrieved and transported to a U.S. port.
The debris was found at a depth of 3,810 meters on the ocean floor, approximately 488 meters from the wreck of the famous ocean liner, located about 600 kilometers off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. OceanGate had labeled the vessel as “experimental,” but conducted several dives to the Titanic with it. U.S. court documents revealed after the implosion that Rush ignored safety warnings about the submersible. Following the tragedy, OceanGate has ceased all operations. The June disaster remains under international investigation.
