It’s a jolting release of video as the U.S. Coast Guard presents the remains of the OceanGate Titan submersible, which imploded this June during a deep-sea dive to the Titanic wreck site. Disturbing footage, captured by a remotely operated vehicle, puts in great perspective the remains of the sub resting 12,500 feet beneath the ocean surface; despite this catastrophically failed submersible, the OceanGate logo is partially visible, a haunting reminder of the ill-fated dive.
It took the lives of five passengers: OceanGate Chief Executive Officer Stockton Rush and British billionaire Hamish Harding, Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet from France, Shahzada Dawood-a businessman from Pakistan, and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood. The release of this footage is one of the key developments in an investigation led by the U.S. Coast Guard into the causes of the tragedy and an assessment of safety protocols.
On a very unassuming June morning, the Titan submersible dived to the Titanic. Ninety minutes into that fateful dive, disaster struck. It lost contact with its mother ship, Polar Prince. Communications from Titan were initially unremarkable, with only system settings issues reported. However, disaster struck shortly thereafter. Due to an immense pressure of such depth, it simply imploded, killing all on board almost instantly.
The wreckage itself was located about 300 meters from the bow of the Titanic to which a crew had embarked on an expedition. The tail cone of the sub, among other debris, can now be seen in video footage scattered across the ocean floor. Visuals of the damaged OceanGate logo in the middle of that wreckage have become a striking image for viewers who’ve seen the footage of the discovery, in some ways the imagery is symbolic.
This release of footage comes amid a wider investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard’s MBI. The full investigation is intended to learn more about what led to the implosion and how future deep-sea exploration missions could avoid such tragic incidents. In that vein, the U.S. Coast Guard has been probing everything from the wreckage itself to final communications from the sub, which ended just minutes before the catastrophic failure.
One key factor in the investigations could be the safety concerns raised by former director of marine operations at OceanGate, David Lochridge. Lochridge had seriously questioned in 2018 whether the design of the Titan was good enough to withstand extreme pressures in deep dives. His warnings were allegedly ignored by the company, which then fired him; questions have arisen as to whether this disaster was preventable.
The publication of this new footage is the latest in a series of efforts to explain what went wrong with the ill-fated mission, how this occurred, and how better safety parameters could be instituted in future deep-sea exploratory dives. The investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard will no doubt shed light on what caused the implosion and what should be done to ensure that such a tragedy does not happen again.
