Titanic sub missing update: Five men including Suleman Dawood confirmed dead as James Cameron says he knew about implosion
Titanic submarine: What happened?
All five men on board the missing Titan submersible were declared dead after it was found that the craft imploded near the site of the shipwreck, authorities announced Thursday.
OceanGate Expeditions founder and CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, renowned French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman were all aboard the Titan.
Hollywood filmmaker James Cameron revealed that he received the information within 24 hours of the disappearance of the submersible that it had imploded when it lost communication with its mothership.
“We got confirmation within an hour that there had been a loud bang at the same time that the sub comms were lost,” Mr Cameron, who directed the 1997 Oscar-winning film Titanic, said.
His statement comes after Wall Street Journal reported that secret US Navy underwater microphones detected the Titan sub’s implosion several days ago.
The Navy used a top secret acoustic detection system to search for any sign of the OceanGate Expeditions submersible soon after it was reported missing on Sunday, a US Defence official said.
Submarine implosion videos viewed by millions
Educational videos of a submarine imploding have racked up millions of views on TikTok amid the search for the missing Titanic submersible in the Atlantic Ocean where ‘debris’ was uncovered with officials announcing those aboard have died following a ‘catastrophic implosion.’
On Thursday, the US Coastguard confirmed that a “debris field” has been discovered within the search area for the missing submersible Titan by a remotely-operated vehicle near the wreckage of the Titanic.
Holly Evans23 June 2023 08:59
Watch: What happened to OceanGate’s Titan submersible?
Titanic submarine: What happened to OceanGate’s Titan submersible?
The five crew members on board the missing Titan submersible died in a “catastrophic implosion”, the US Coast Guard has confirmed. Oceangate Expeditions CEO Stockton Rush, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, British billionaire Hamish Harding, and French adventurer Paul-Henri Nargeolet were on a dive to the Titanic shipwreck when the vessel lost communication with its support ship on Sunday 18 June. A frantic search for the missing submersible unfolded over the course of four days, before news of the “catastrophic implosion” was confirmed on Thursday. With the tragedy dominating the headlines, The Independent takes a look at what happened to OceanGate’s Titan submersible.
Holly Evans23 June 2023 08:41
OceanGate co-founder says it is “tricky” to navigate current regulations
Guillermo Sohnlein, co-founder of OceanGate Exploration, the parent company of the Titan submersible, explained it is “tricky to navigate” the current regulations on submersibles.
He told Times Radio: “It’s too early to tell, there’s data that’s going to have to be collected over the coming days, weeks and months, and I’m sure the team will work with whoever is conducting the investigations to cooperate and provide as much information as possible.
“At that point, we’ll be in a better position to tell (what went wrong).”
When asked about the regulations surrounding submersibles, he said: “There are regulations in place but as you can imagine there aren’t many subs that go that deep, so the regulations are pretty sparse and many of them are antiquated and designed for specific instances.
“It’s tricky to navigate those regulatory schemes.”
Holly Evans23 June 2023 08:37
What we know about doomed Titanic sub
It was due to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip, travelling to the ocean floor and the chance to view what few people have ever done – the 111-year-old wreck of the Titanic.
A British billionaire explorer, a Pakistani-British father and son, a French diver and the chief executive of the submersible tourist company boarded the OceanGate Expedition’s submersible, the Titan, full of a spirit of adventure and excitement.
But, in a chilling echo of the fate of the doomed 1912 vessel, soon after setting out, the expedition took a dramatic turn.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar23 June 2023 08:30
Teenager Suleman Dawood ‘had a sense’ Titan expedition ‘was not okay’, aunt says
Teenager Suleman Dawood ‘had a sense’ Titan expedition ‘was not okay’, aunt says
Holly Evans23 June 2023 08:26
Titanic director felt ‘in his bones’ tourist submersible was lost
James Cameron, who directed the 1997 film Titanic, has said he felt the loss of the Titan submersible “in my bones”.
“I immediately got on the phone to some of my contacts in the deep submersible community,” Cameron recalled of the moment he heard about the news.
Oliver Browning has more.
Titanic director James Cameron felt ‘in his bones’ tourist submersible was lost
James Cameron, who directed the 1997 film Titanic, has said he felt the loss of the Titan submersible “in my bones”. The legendary Hollywood filmmaker has himself completed 33 dives to the famous shipwreck. “I immediately got on the phone to some of my contacts in the deep submersible community,” Cameron recalled of the moment he heard about the news. “Within about an hour I had the following facts: They were on descent. They were at 3,500 metres, heading for the bottom at 3,800 metres. Their comms were lost, and navigation was lost. “I felt in my bones what had happened.”
Holly Evans23 June 2023 08:20
Submarine captain says lessons need to be learned
When asked about the safety of the Titan submersible, former Royal Navy submarine captain Ryan Ramsey explained that lessons need to be learned and questions need to be answered.
He said: “That’s the question that needs to be answered. Most submersibles and all submarines go through a stringent safety process.
“Every time they come back in and every time before they go to sea they do safety checks, check the safety of the hull, state of the hull openings, everything.
“What’s apparent here is they didn’t have to follow the same regulation, and therefore didn’t follow the same regulation. I think that will be where a big focus is.
“That doesn’t mean blame, that’s not what we should be doing, what we should be doing is what’s called adjust culture, where we work out lessons learned and implement them going forward.”
Holly Evans23 June 2023 08:09
“Only positive is that it was instantaneous”
Former Royal Navy submarine captain Ryan Ramsey has explained the possible reasons for the Titan submersible to implode on its descent to the Titanic wreckage.
He told PA news agency: “I think I said in one of my early interviews that there were probably two outcomes for this which is one, it’s lost communications and gone down to the bottom, and it’s stuck on the bottom.
“The other one is that it lost communications and then suffered a catastrophic failure and imploded, which is what looks to be what happened.
“I think either one of two things has happened.
“Either the hatch with the 17 bolts they used to seal them in has had a failure, which has then caused the hull to collapse at pressure because there’s huge amounts of pressure, even halfway down, or the pressure hull itself had a defect in it when they sailed and that’s fractured from the pressure, and caused the same result.
“The only positive out of it is that it was instantaneous and they didn’t know anything.”
The submersible is believed to have suffered a “catastrophic failure” and imploaded (Action Aviation via AP)
(AP)
Holly Evans23 June 2023 07:59
Where is the Titanic wreck – and how far down is it?
The wreck’s location is approximately 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Graeme Massie23 June 2023 07:56
Rescue operation changed to a salvage mission
In a statement, the Canadian Armed Forces said: “The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) and the Canadian Armed Forces offer their sincere condolences to the family and friends of the crew of the Titan for their tragic loss.
“This is a truly unfortunate outcome that concludes the great efforts and cooperation between countries, militaries and partners.
“As this operation is transitioning to recovery and salvage, MRCC Boston no longer requires rescue services.
“All JRCC rescue assets will return to base to regenerate search and rescue capability and prepare for future search and rescue events. The extent of Canadian assistance with recovery and salvage is currently being discussed.”
Holly Evans23 June 2023 07:46
