The Titan, a submarine about 6.5 meters long, went missing on June 18 as it descended towards the Titanic that sank in 1912. Less than two hours after departure, contact was lost. It was only later, after days of search and rescue, that an implosion had occurred.
Why the vessel collapsed under the high pressure deep in the ocean is not known. None of the five occupants survived. The rescue operations could count on a very large media interest.
On board was OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush. Titan’s debris was found on the seabed at a depth of nearly 4,000 metres. Canada and the United States have opened several investigations into the accident, which occurred in international waters.
OceanGate immediately received a lot of criticism. Among other things, after court documents from 2018 became known, which show that a former executive says he was fired after expressing serious doubts about Titan’s safety. According to David Lochridge, the submarine’s hull was not designed for diving to a depth of 4,000 meters. The rig was only designed for pressure at a maximum of 1,300 meters, it said.
OceanGate also offered expeditions in the Azores and Bahamas, according to the website. The website has now been offline since Thursday evening Belgian time. American media, ABC News, had also reported that the operation was suspended.
