Lessons learnt from OceanGate Titan sub ‘implosion’
It was exactly one year ago that five men boarded an ‘amateur’ submersible to visit the wreckage of the Titanic at the bottom of the North Atlantic.
Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French sub-pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet and Stockton Rush, chief executive of the company OceanGate that owned the vessel, set off from the city of St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.
The expedition was supposed to take them to the grave of the British ocean liner, which lies at a depth of 12,500 feet.
But all five were doomed from the start.
An hour an a half into their descent on 18 June, the company OceanGate lost all contact with the submersible.
Four days later – after a frantic search – there was no hope that the crew will ever be found alive after debris of the vessel were discovered.
The US Coast Guard confirmed it had suffered a ‘catastrophic implosion’, instantly killing everyone on board.
On the anniversary of the disaster, Metro.co.uk spoke with Rob McCallum, Eyos founding partner and expedition leader, to give an insight as to what happened.
Cause of the Titan ‘implosion’
Multiple investigations are ongoing to determine what led to the tragedy, but the timeline for them keeps moving forward.
The expedition leader said it is ‘clear’ that the Titan ‘imploded’, adding that it was due to ‘one or two faults’ of the ‘amateur’ vehicle.
There is still not a definitive answer as to what caused the ‘implosion’ in June 2023 – and Mr McCallum did not wish to speculate – but he did point to the built of the vessel.
He said: ‘We know know that Titan was made from carbon fibre, which is not an appropriate material – and has never been – to build deep water human occupied vehicles. With every dive, it gets weaker.
‘Carbon fibre is made up of thousands of fibre threads held together by resin or glue. Each time there is stress on the craft or release of pressure, it causes micro cracks to it. It gets weaker and weaker. That’s the big problem.
‘Another issue is that hen you are using different types of shapes and materials, they react differently to pressure and temperature. This can create a weak point.’
Lessons learnt from the tragedy
Mr McCallum compared the construction of the Titan and the dive to ‘just anyone building their own plane and then flying in it’
‘The industry has been running for 50 years and carried out tens of thousands of dives – no accidents like this one,’ he said.
‘This is because they are using professionally built vessels that are certified and classed, and operated by trained professionals.
‘This tragedy just reinforces the message that if you are going to build vehicles to be used in water and are technically complex, then they need to adhere to rigid engineering processes
‘And if you build an experimental aircraft with no external oversight at all, there is a high chance of fail.’
Timeline
If you have been following the story, here is a timeline of what happened with the Titan sub search in June 2023:
Saturday, June 17
2pm: Billionaire explorer Hamish Harding posts on Instagram to reveal he is among the crew of a submersible vessel on their way to explore the Titanic wreckage.
Sunday, June 18
4am: The crew begins their 4,000m descent to the wreck.
7.30am: The are dropped into the ocean in their 22-foot long submersible vessel, the Titan.
9.47am: The vessel loses contact with OceanGate.
10am: The final signal is sent and there is no further contact with them.
5.15pm: The vessel is due to resurface around nine hours after diving.
5.40pm: When the submersible fails to resurface, the crew raises the alarm with authorities.
10pm: All five members are identified as being on board.
Monday, June 19
9am: Authorities reveal the Titan is missing and a large-scale search is then launched.
Tuesday, June 20
Submersible craft including an unmanned US Navy Curv-21, which can reach depth of 4,000m, joins the search.
The Polar Prince and 106 Rescue Wing continues to conduct surface searches throughout Monday evening.
A Canadian Aircraft P3 Aurora joins the effort, as the search area expands to 10,000sqm.
6pm: US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger tell reporters it is a ‘challenge’ to conduct a search in such a remote area.
Wednesday, June 21
6am: It is reported that ‘noises’ have are heard by sonar crews searching for the missing sub, giving fresh hope that passengers are still alive.
8pm: Captain Jamie Frederick says noises heard on Tuesday have also been heard today, but search teams ‘don’t know what they are’.
8pm: The US Coast Guard provides a prediction of the time it thinks oxygen will run out in the Titan: 7.08am local time.
9.30pm: A French ship named the Atalante, which is sent over on President Emmanuel Macron’s orders, arrives to join the search.
Thursday, June 22
7am: 10 ships and remote submarines are in the area, doubling the size of the operation.
12.08pm/1pm: The Titan’s oxygen supply is due to run out.
3.45pm: Victor 6000, the underwater robot dubbed the ‘last hope’ for missing Titanic sub, is deployed to help the search.
4.55pm: A ‘debris field’ is discovered within the search area for the missing Titan submersible, the US Coast Guard announces.
7.55pm: The US Coast Guard says the Titan submersible was destroyed by a ‘catastrophic implosion’ with the loss of all five people aboard.
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