According to US Coast Guard Rear Adm John Mauger, on June 18, 2023, the Titan submersible, exploring the Titanic wreck, suffered a “catastrophic implosion” that killed all five people on board, including some big names in exploration and business.
The Titan, operated by OceanGate Inc., had lost contact with its mother vessel, an intervention ship, about 700 kilometers south of St. John’s, Newfoundland. Remotely operated underwater vehicles are said to have located the submersible around 487 meters away from the Titanic remains among the debris field that matches the description of a catastrophic implosion.
Among the dead were Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, British adventurer Hamish Harding, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, and French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet. According to OceanGate, “These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans.”
The search zone for the Titan was large, with some 25,900 square kilometers of ocean. It had the participation of many assets: the French research vessel L’Atalante, the Canadian research icebreaker Polar Prince, and some aircraft from the US and Canadian military. Notwithstanding the employment of advanced sonar buoys and deep-sea unmanned vehicles, the search ended with the grim discovery of the remains of the submersible.
The design and safety measures of the Titan have been criticized. A former director of marine operations at the firm OceanGate, David Lochridge, had raised a red flag over the safety of the submersible, terming it “an accident waiting to happen.” His warning was on the flaws that could be in the design and construction of the Titan, and more specifically, its carbon fiber hull, which he argued could not stand the immense pressures during deep-sea exploration.
It has set off a much broader discussion of questions regarding safety standards and whether government and professional control of a strongly regulated industry in submersibles can claim ultimate control. People like Patrick L. Lahey, the CEO of Triton Submarines, have been quick to point out that the very nature of risk creation is synonymous with associating carbon fiber in the creation of deep-sea vessels. “Under compression, it’s a capricious material, which is the last thing you want to associate with a pressure boundary,” he says.
The tragedy has also resulted in some legal aftershocks. A Florida couple who sued OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush for canceling a Titanic expedition has announced they will drop their lawsuit in light of the tragedy. The Eagles released a statement through their attorney, saying, “We wish the entire OceanGate family and the families of those aboard the Titan the very best as they grieve the loss of their loved ones.”
All this while, investigations go on centering on the determination of root causes of the implosion and a guarantee along the same line of the highest standards of safety in future missions to the depths of the ocean. The loss of the Titan and its crew is a reminder of the perils of pushing back the frontiers of human exploration.