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| Debris from the Titan was found on Thursday, ending a four-day, multinational search for the 22-foot watercraft. Credit… Agence France-Presse, via Oceangate Expeditions |
Introduction
On June 18, 2023, a group of five adventurous souls boarded a submersible called Titan, hoping to witness the legendary wreck of the Titanic with their own eyes. Little did they know that their voyage would end in a horrific tragedy that shocked the world and raised serious questions about the safety and ethics of disaster tourism.Titan was operated by OceanGate, an American company that offered expeditions to various underwater sites, including shipwrecks. The company claimed that its submersible was the most advanced and innovative in the world, capable of diving to depths of 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) and withstanding pressures of 400 atmospheres. The submersible had a spherical pressure hull made of carbon fibre and titanium, with a diameter of 2.1 meters (7 feet), and a cylindrical outer hull that housed the batteries, thrusters, sonar, cameras, and other equipment. The submersible could carry up to five people: a pilot and four passengers.
The passengers on board Titan that fateful day were:
Clockwise from top left: Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and son Suleman, Hamish Harding. Composite: Shannon Stapleton/Joel Saget/Jannicke Mikkelsen/Reuters/Getty/Dawood Foundation
- Stockton Rush, 61, the co-founder and CEO of OceanGate. He was also the pilot of Titan and had previously piloted Cyclops 1, another submersible owned by OceanGate, to the Andrea Doria wreck site in 2016.
- Hamish Harding, 58, a British adventurer and businessman who held several world records for flying around the world in various aircraft. He was also the chairman of Action Aviation, a company that specialized in aircraft sales and charter services.
- Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, a French marine archaeologist and explorer who had visited the Titanic wreck site more than 30 times since 1987. He was also the director of underwater research for RMS Titanic Inc., the company that owned the salvage rights to the Titanic.
- Shahzada Dawood, 48, a British-Pakistani businessman and philanthropist who was the chairman of Dawood Hercules Corporation, one of Pakistan's largest conglomerates. He was also the founder of The Dawood Foundation, a charitable organization that supported education, health, and social development projects in Pakistan.
- Suleman Dawood, 19, the son of Shahzada Dawood and a student at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. He was interested in marine biology and had accompanied his father on several expeditions around the world.
The expedition began on June 16, when Titan and its support vessel MV Polar Prince departed from St. John's, Newfoundland. They arrived at the dive site on June 17, where they conducted some test dives with Titan to ensure its functionality and performance. Everything seemed to be working fine, and Titan was ready for its first dive into the Titanic on June 18.
The dive was scheduled to start at 8:30 am local time (12:30 pm GMT). Titan was lowered into the water by a crane from MV Polar Prince and began its descent into the dark abyss. The submersible communicated with its support vessel via an acoustic modem that transmitted data and voice messages through sound waves. The communication was intermittent and sometimes garbled due to interference from other vessels and marine life in the area.
The dive was expected to take about three hours: one hour to reach the wreck site at a depth of 3,800 meters (12,500 feet), one hour to explore the wreck site using Titan's sonar and cameras, and one hour to ascend back to the surface. The passengers were excited and eager to see the Titanic with their own eyes. They had prepared for this moment by studying maps and images of the wreck site provided by OceanGate and RMS Titanic Inc.
As Titan descended deeper into the ocean, it encountered increasing pressure and cold. The temperature outside the submersible dropped to -1°C (30°F), while inside it was maintained at a comfortable 20°C (68°F). The pressure outside increased by one atmosphere for every 10 meters (33 feet) of depth, reaching about 380 atmospheres at the wreck site. This meant that every square inch of Titan's hull had to withstand a force of about 5,500 pounds.
The dive was scheduled to start at 8:30 am local time (12:30 pm GMT). Titan was lowered into the water by a crane from MV Polar Prince and began its descent into the dark abyss. The submersible communicated with its support vessel via an acoustic modem that transmitted data and voice messages through sound waves. The communication was intermittent and sometimes garbled due to interference from other vessels and marine life in the area.
The dive was expected to take about three hours: one hour to reach the wreck site at a depth of 3,800 meters (12,500 feet), one hour to explore the wreck site using Titan's sonar and cameras, and one hour to ascend back to the surface. The passengers were excited and eager to see the Titanic with their own eyes. They had prepared for this moment by studying maps and images of the wreck site provided by OceanGate and RMS Titanic Inc.
As Titan descended deeper into the ocean, it encountered increasing pressure and cold. The temperature outside the submersible dropped to -1°C (30°F), while inside it was maintained at a comfortable 20°C (68°F). The pressure outside increased by one atmosphere for every 10 meters (33 feet) of depth, reaching about 380 atmospheres at the wreck site. This meant that every square inch of Titan's hull had to withstand a force of about 5,500 pounds.
Titan was designed to handle such extreme conditions, but something went wrong during its descent. At 10:15 am local time (2:15 pm GMT), about 1 hour and 45 minutes into the dive, communication with Titan was abruptly lost. The last message received from Titan was: "We are at 3,200 meters (10,500 feet), everything is OK, we are approaching the bow section of the Titanic."
The crew of MV Polar Prince tried to re-establish contact with Titan but received no response. They assumed that Titan had reached the wreck site and was busy exploring it. They expected Titan to resurface at 11:30 am local time (3:30 pm GMT), as planned.
However, Titan never resurfaced. As the hours passed, the crew of MV Polar Prince became increasingly worried and alerted the authorities. A search and rescue operation was launched, involving several vessels and aircraft from Canada, the United States, and other countries. The search area covered a radius of 20 nautical miles (37 km) around the last known position of Titan.
The search was hampered by bad weather, rough seas, and poor visibility. The depth and remoteness of the dive site also posed significant challenges for the searchers. The only hope of finding Titan was to use sonar or ROVs to scan the seabed for any signs of the submersible or its debris.
Meanwhile, the US Navy analyzed its acoustic data from a secret network of underwater sensors designed to track hostile submarines. It detected an anomaly "consistent with an implosion or explosion in the general vicinity of where Titan was operating when communications were lost", according to a statement. The navy shared this information with the coast guard, suggesting that Titan had imploded while descending, resulting in the instantaneous death of all five occupants inside the submersible.
The implosion theory was also supported by James Cameron, the film director and deep-sea explorer who had visited the Titanic wreck site 33 times using his own submersibles. He said he had heard from his sources that there was a "loud bang" that could have marked the moment when Titan imploded. He also said he had doubts about Titan's design and safety standards, especially its carbon fibre pressure hull, which he considered to be unproven and risky.
The search for Titan continued for nearly 80 hours, until June 21, when an ROV deployed from Canada's Horizon Arctic vessel discovered a debris field containing parts of Titan, about 500 meters (1,600 feet) from the bow of the Titanic. The debris field indicated that Titan had indeed imploded under immense pressure, shattering its hull into thousands of pieces. No human remains were found.
The discovery of the debris field confirmed the worst fears of the families and friends of the victims, who had been holding on to a faint hope that they might still be alive. The news also shocked and saddened the public, who had followed the expedition with interest and admiration. Tributes poured in from around the world for the five men who had perished in pursuit of their passion and curiosity.
The tragedy also raised serious questions about the safety and ethics of disaster tourism, especially in such fragile and hazardous environments as the Titanic wreck site. Many experts and critics argued that OceanGate had been reckless and irresponsible in operating Titan without proper certification or regulation and that it had exploited the Titanic wreck site for commercial gain without regard for its preservation or respect for its history.
OceanGate defended its expedition as a legitimate scientific and educational endeavour that aimed to document and protect the Titanic wreck site. It also claimed that Titan had undergone rigorous testing and inspection before each dive and that it had followed all safety protocols and procedures during the expedition. It said it was cooperating with the authorities to investigate the cause of the accident and to recover Titan's wreckage.
The investigation into the accident is still ongoing, but it is unlikely that a definitive answer will ever be found. The exact sequence of events that led to Titan's implosion may never be known, as most of its data recorders and sensors were destroyed or lost in the debris field. The only clues may come from analyzing the debris itself or interviewing witnesses who were involved in Titan's design, construction, operation, or maintenance.
The accident has cast a shadow over OceanGate's plans to continue its expeditions to other underwater sites, including Pearl Harbor, Bikini Atoll, and Antarctica. It is unclear whether OceanGate will be able to rebuild its reputation and credibility after such a devastating loss, or whether it will face legal action or sanctions from regulators or stakeholders. It also raised awareness about the need for more stringent standards and regulations for submersible operations in general, especially in sensitive or dangerous areas such as shipwreck sites. It has also highlighted the importance of preserving and respecting such sites as part of our shared heritage and history.
The families and friends of the victims have expressed their grief and shock over the tragedy. They have also praised the courage and passion of the five men who died pursuing their dreams of exploring the deep sea. The victims were described as "true explorers" who "shared a distinct spirit of adventure" by OceanGate in a statement. The company also thanked the rescue teams for their efforts and said it was cooperating with the authorities to determine the cause of the implosion.
In Conclusion, The Titanic wreck site remains a source of fascination and mystery for many people around the world. However, it is also a fragile and dangerous environment that poses many challenges and hazards for those who venture there. The Titanic submersible incident is a grim reminder of the perils and costs of exploring the final frontier.
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