Titanic sub implosion: Shahzada and Suleman Dawood’s family on Polar Prince when fatal implosion happened

Photographs circulating online, which internet users claimed showed the remains of OceanGate’s Titan submersible, have been debunked.

The US Coast Guard confirmed to the Associated Press reported that there are no public images of the wreckage so far.

Two of the pictures that allegedly showed the Titan’s debris are actually from the remains of the Titanic itself and were taken in 2004.

Christine Dawood, the mother of 19-year-old Suleman Dawood who died alongside his father and three others on board the Titan submersible, has shared their last conversation.

Prior to embarking on the journey, the five passengers signed liability waivers accepting that it could result in death.

But, despite this, the waiver may not shield OceanGate from potential lawsuits by the victims’ families.

Timothy E Allen, an attorney and former Secret Service agent, said in a statement to The Independent that waivers won’t protect the company if it turns out there was defects with the sub.

“Submarines operate in a high-pressure environment, and any flaws or weaknesses in the construction, design, or materials used can potentially lead to catastrophic failures such as implosion,” he said.

“If it can be established that the implosion was caused by inherent defects in the mechanics or engineering of the submarine, the responsible party may be held liable, even if a waiver was signed.”

The bodies of the five passengers aboard the Titanic sub that was lost in a “catastrophic implosion” near the wreck may never be recovered from the Atlantic, the US Coast Guard said.

The pressure chamber of the OceanGate Titan was found among other debris, approximately 1,600ft from the bow of the Titanic on the sea floor by a remote operated vehicle (ROV) on Thursday.

“This is an incredibly unforgiving environment out there on the sea floor. The debris is consistent with the catastrophic implosion of the vessel. We will continue to work and search the area down there but I don’t have an answer on prospects at this time,” said Rear Admiral John Mauger of the US Coast Guard.

The 1997 blockbuster Titanic will return to Netflix in July – just weeks after a doomed expedition to the ocean liner’s resting place on the ocean floor.

The movie, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet is returning to the streaming platform on 1 July, according to HuffPost, along nearly 100 other titles.

It is unclear whether the decision to add Titanic was made before or after the Titan submersible tragedy this week but some on social media suggested Netflix “could’ve picked a better time” and suggested that the company was seizing on the tragedy to increase viewing figures.

The pilot and four passengers of the Titan submersible that vanished during a mission to explore the Titanic wreckage are believed to be dead, authorities say.

British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, UK citizens Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood, French national Paul-Henri Nargeolet and OceanGate Expeditions chief executive Stockton Rush had “sadly been lost”, the company announced.

The US Coast Guard yesterday announced it is investigating the cause of the undersea implosion of a tourist submersible that killed all five people aboard while diving to the Titanic wreck.

The announcement comes a day after Canada’s Transportation Safety Board said it was conducting its own investigation into the implosion of the Titan, which has raised questions about the unregulated nature of such expeditions.

“My primary goal is to prevent a similar occurrence by making the necessary recommendations to enhance the safety of the maritime domain worldwide,” Captain Jason Neubauer, the coast guard’s chief investigator said.

The coast guard opened what it calls a marine board investigation on Friday, Mr Neubauer said, and is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to recover evidence, including a salvage operation at the debris site on the seabed.

The operator charged passengers $250,000 each to participate in the voyage.

“We cannot attribute a monetary value to Search and Rescue cases, as the Coast Guard does not associate cost with saving a life,” the agency said.

While the Coast Guard’s cost for the mission is likely to run into the millions of dollars, it is generally prohibited by federal law from collecting reimbursement related to any search or rescue service, said Stephen Koerting, a US attorney in Maine who specializes in maritime law.

But that does not resolve the larger issue of whether wealthy travelers or companies should bear responsibility to the public and governments for exposing themselves to such risk.

“This is one of the most difficult questions to attempt to find an answer for,” said Pete Sepp, president of the National Taxpayers Union, noting scrutiny of government-funded rescues dating back to British billionaire Richard Branson’s hot air balloon exploits in the 1990s.

“This should never be solely about government spending, or perhaps not even primarily about government spending, but you can’t help thinking about how the limited resources of rescuers can be utilized,” Sepp said.

The French billionaire diver who died in the Titan submersible reportedly spent two decades working with a company that had the sole right to retrieve and display artifacts from the Titanic wreck site.

Paul-Henri Nargeolet, one of the five people on board the sub and the most prolific Titanic divers in history, led five expeditions for the private salvage firm RMS Titanic Inc to collect over 5,000 artifacts from the shipwreck, according to Insider.

The artifacts included anything between shaving kits and chandeliers on board the vessel.