The submersible "Titan", which was supposed to visit the wreckage of the Titanic, carrying five tourists, has been missing in the sea of the North Atlantic for many days. In the early hours of this morning, there was finally new news from the Titan submersible, but it was not good news.
According to Xinhua News Agency, the US Coast Guard said on the 22nd that the US deep-sea submersible that disappeared during the investigation of the wreck of the "Titanic" cruise ship had a "catastrophic implosion" near the wreck site, and all five crew members died.
Implosion occurred in a deep-sea submersible, and 5 crew members died
The expedition was reportedly organized by the U.S. Oceangate Exploration Company. The company's "Titan" deep submersible dived about 1450 kilometers east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts on the 18th, and disappeared about 1 hour and 45 minutes after departure. Aircraft and ships from the United States, Canada and other countries have been carrying out large-scale search and rescue operations in the waters of the North Atlantic for several days.
△ The scene of the press conference, source: CNN
U.S. Coast Guard officials said at a press conference on the 22nd that the seabed environment is extremely harsh and complex, search and rescue personnel used remote-controlled detectors to find 5 broken parts of the deep submersible on the seabed not far from the wreckage of the "Titanic", and by comparing multiple pieces of wreckage, the search and rescue team confirmed that this was the missing "Titan" submersible. The wreckage was located about 1,600 feet (nearly 500 meters) from the bow of the Titanic. It is difficult to determine when the deep submersible exploded.
Oceangate Exploration issued a statement on the same day confirming that the crew of the deep submersible was unfortunately killed. The five dead were Stockton Rush, CEO of Oceangate Exploration, British explorer Hamish Harding, businessman Shahzada Daoud and his son Suleiman, who had dual Pakistani and British citizenship, and French explorer Paul-Henri Narjolais.
U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander John Mauger also said that about the time, cause and what happened to the submersible, efforts will be made to excavate more information and try to find the remains of the victims.
Major Mauger confirmed that the medical team involved in the search and rescue and most of the vessels will be withdrawn within the next 24 hours, leaving the remote operations team to continue the search on the seabed.
The wreck site after the sinking of the Titanic is about 3800 meters above the surface. It is reported that at such a deep seabed, all objects are subjected to a pressure of about 40 megapascals, which is about 390 times that of the ground. The Titan submersible is designed to dive to depths of up to 4,000 meters and can carry up to 1 pilot and 4 tourists.
△Location of the wreck site of the Titanic, source: MapBox
Major Mauger revealed that the Coast Guard had been listening to the entire body of water and had not detected any "catastrophic events" and that the sounds detected by sonar before were not related to such situations.
Rich Hero: The Deep Submersible Controller is a modification of the game controller
According to reports, the missing submarine is the "Titan" submersible of Ocean Gate, the size of a truck, can accommodate 5 people, and usually comes with an emergency oxygen supply of about 4 days. It is reported that the eight-day sightseeing trip costs $250,000 and can dive to the depth of the wreckage of 3,800 meters.
According to the "Ocean Gate" official website, even people with no diving experience can participate in this project. According to the official introduction, participants only need to demonstrate basic physical strength, such as climbing a 6-foot (about 1.8 meters) ladder and moving 20 pounds (about 9 kilograms) of objects.
Years before the disappearance of the submersible, experts from within Oceangate, as well as deep-sea explorers and oceanographers, warned that the project had potential risks and could lead to catastrophe. The company's legal and operational counsel David Concannon also mentioned in a filing with the U.S. District Court that the Titan encountered battery technology problems in 2021.
According to reports, Chris Brown, another rich man who wanted to participate in the project with British billionaire Hamish, found that the remote control to operate the deep submersible was modified with a game controller after paying the deposit, worried that the deep submersible "cut corners", and Chris finally chose to abandon the project and asked for a refund due to safety concerns.
David Pogue, a technology columnist who has participated in the Titanic expedition program, said he had signed a warning document before boarding the ship that said that the Titan was "experimental," had not been "approved" or certified by any regulatory body, and could result in injury or even death.
It was also reported that in February this year, a couple from Florida sued Stockton, saying that their company broke its promise and refused to refund the fees previously paid by the two men if they failed to fulfill their promise. It is reported that the two were originally scheduled to take the "Titanic" to participate in the "Titanic" expedition in 2018, but the trip was postponed several times by the company, and the company explained that more tests of the "Titan" were needed. The couple said Stockton did not refund as agreed, but instead invited them to a July 2021 Titanic expedition.
The company involved has received several safety complaints and warnings
Previously, people have questioned the safety of the "Titan" and the professionalism of its company, "Ocean Gate".
Oceangate says Titan has made more than 50 test dives including deep water and pressure chambers near the Bahamas, similar to those of Titanic. But years before Titan's disappearance, Oceangate had received multiple safety complaints and warnings.
During an expedition in 2022, Ocean Gate reported that its submarine experienced a battery failure during a dive and had to be manually reconnected to the lifting platform, according to court documents.
CBS reported that the ship had lost contact with the surface crew for nearly 5 hours during a dive while he was making observation reports on the mission. The report pointed out that the waiver of the "Titan" passengers clearly stated that the submersible has not been approved or certified by any regulatory body.
In addition, according to a 2018 lawsuit record, David Lochridge, former director of maritime operations at Oceangate, pointed out in 2015 that the Titan, which was still in the process of development at the time, had serious safety risks, and that the company's insufficient testing and certification would "expose passengers to extreme danger in experimental submersibles."
According to CCTV news, Alain Estrada, a social media "YouTube" travel blogger from Mexico, boarded the "Titan" in July last year. According to his description in an interview on the 21st local time, it was an "extremely dangerous" experience: he had to sign a "life and death certificate" at the beginning, and he lost contact during the dive.
On the 21st local time, Will Cornyn, chairman of the Manned Underwater Vehicle Committee of the Society of Marine Technology, confirmed in an interview that the "Ocean Gate" company has always refused to let the "Titan" accept the professional certification of a third party, and he himself wrote to the founder of the "Ocean Gate" 5 years ago, and the industry is generally concerned about the reliability of this submersible.
Rush, founder of Oceangate, said in a 2019 interview that regulations in the commercial submarine industry are hindering its progress. "[Commercial submarines] are super safe because of these regulations," Rush said, "but at the same time it's losing innovation or progress." Rush himself is also in the "Titan" of this disappearance.
On June 22, Oceangate Exploration said after issuing a statement confirming the tragic death of five crew members of the deep submersible: "These are true explorers with a unique spirit of adventure and a strong passion for exploring and protecting the world's oceans. In this sad time, our hearts are with each and every one of their family members, grieving the loss of their lives.
Upstream news comprehensive Xinhua News Agency, CCTV, Cai Lian News, Red Star News, Everying, etc