The Ocean Gate Submersible
The Titan submarine, formerly known as Cyclops 2, exploded on June 18, 2023. It was carrying visitors to the Titanic wreckage. Titan was not actually a submarine but a submersible, which means it couldn’t power itself into and out of the ocean rather it needed a mother ship that could launch it and recover it. This 22-foot submersible, made of carbon fiber and titanium, was operated by a Washington-based private company called Ocean Gate.
The company has been conducting tours of shipwrecks and underwater canyons since 2009. It was founded by a Princeton grad named Stockton Rush to make deep-sea tourism more accessible. This particular expedition trip, Ocean Gate’s third to the Titanic wreckage, cost $250,000 per passenger. It was scheduled to last eight days, with each dive lasting about ten hours between trips to the surface.
Who was on board?
There were five people inside the vessel OceanGate’s founder, Stockton Rush; a billionaire British adventurer named Hamish Harding; the French maritime expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet; and a British Pakistani businessman, Shahzada Dawood, who had brought his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood on the trip.
As news from the rescue efforts became increasingly dismal. Some watching the crisis from afar unearthed unexpected biographical details about the characters onboard. Rush, for example, was married to a descendant of a couple who died on the Titanic itself. Rush’s wife, Wendy, is the great-great-granddaughter and the grandchild of wealthy travelers Isidor and Ida Straus, who took the trip in 1912. Survivors of the tragedy say that Isidor gave up his lifeboat seat to make room for more women and children and that he and Ida stayed on the deck holding each other as the ship went down.
Dawood’s sister, Azmeh, told NBC News that her nephew had been “terrified” about the trip but reluctantly agreed to join his father.
What Happened with Titan Submarine?
The expedition departed St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, on June 16, 2023.
On 17th June 2023, Hamish Harding, posted on Facebook: “Due to the worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023. A weather window has just opened up, and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow.”
On 18th June 2023, at 8 AM ET Titan started its descent. It was supposed to be 2 hours descent covering 13,000 feet and reaching Titanic wreck.
The Coast Guard, which participated in the search from Boston and provided assistance, said that the surface ship had its last touch with the submersible approximately one hour and forty-five minutes after it was deployed i.e. at around 9:45 AM ET.
The submersible was supposed to return by 3:00 PM ET but it didn’t.
Reaction of the USA and Canada at Titan Submarine
Search Started
On 19th June, the US and Canada both dispatched their military forces, surface vessels, submarines, sonar buoys, and aircraft, in an attempt to find the ship. They were exploring an area that was approximately 900 miles east of Cape Cod and was discouragingly large. This area was twice as big as Connecticut and two and a half miles deep.
On 20th June, underwater sound was detected by Canadian Lockheed P3 Orion aircraft. However the US Coast Guard didn’t tell the precise timing. On 21st June more underwater sound was detected. After that remotely operated vehicle (ROV) were moved in that area of the sounds.
Debris Field Found
On June 22, it became abundantly evident that all five passengers onboard were likely already deceased. Despite the fact that initial hope was encouraged by “banging sounds” which rescuers heard coming from underneath the surface. The United States Coast Guard reported that one of its search vessels had discovered a “debris field” around 1,600 feet from the wreckage of the Titanic.
US authorities say a debris field located in the North Atlantic leads to a conclusion that OceanGate’s Titan submersible suffered a “catastrophic implosion” (a violent collapse inwards), instantly killing all five passengers on board.
BBC News
The debris field ultimately turned out to contain five pieces of the Titanic. Admiral John Mauger of the Coast Guard stated at a press conference that the debris was “consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel.” Shortly after the debris was found, OceanGate issued a statement saying that the business suspected that the passengers of the Titan had “sadly been lost.”
Presumed human remains found
After discovering the crash, the Coast Guard said it intended to demobilize most search troops. Still, Mauger maintained that teams would continue to look for the bodies of the passengers, which they appear to have located within the week. The Coast Guard stated on June 28 that they have received “presumed human remains” from the Marine Board of Investigation. At the scene of the tragedy, these “presumed human remains” had been “carefully recovered within the wreckage.”
Facts & Truth
- Karl Stanley, a close friend of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush said in an interview that Rush knew the submersible vessel would end in disaster, but he did not stop and was creating a “mousetrap for billionaires”.
- No remains were ever discovered despite the debris field on the ocean floor resembling the Titan Submarine.
- It is yet unknown what caused the implosion. However, there are a few potential possibilities, including a breach in the hull or a malfunction caused by technology.
- In the wake of the Titan’s explosion, concerns have been raised about the safety of submersibles that travel to the Titanic wreck .
- After Titan incident, the US has issued new guidelines for submersibles that intend to visit the ruins of the Titanic.
Stories Around missing Titan Submarine:
- There have been rumblings that the sunken submarine was transporting a priceless relic but that the explosion destroyed the cargo.
- Some individuals think that the submersible was damaged by a competing business investigating the Titan’s wreck.
- A second story floating around suggests an unknown marine species took the submersible hostage.
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