- The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday detailed the final communication from the Titan’s crew, which take partd the message “all excellent here” before the submersible’s overweightal implosion on June 18, 2023.
- The Titan had been exposed to the elements for seven months prior to the incident, and its hull was not appraiseed by third parties.
- The hearing, directed by the Marine Board of Investigation, aims to uncover the caparticipates of the Titan’s implosion and stop future tragedies.
Among the last words heard from the crew of an experimental submersible headed for the wreck of the Titanic were “all excellent here,” according to a visual re-creation of the journey of the Titan before it imploded, ending all five on board.
The U.S. Coast Guard conshort-termed the animation Monday on the first day of what is awaited to be a two-week hearing on the caparticipates of the implosion. Crew aboard the Titan were communicating via text messages with staff aboard the help ship Polar Prince, according to the conshort-termation.
The crew lost reach out after an swap of texts about the submersible’s depth and weight as it droped. The Polar Prince then sent repeated messages asking if the Titan could still see the ship on its onboard distake part. One of Titan’s final responses, which became spotty as it droped, was “all excellent here.”
COAST GUARD OFFERS UPDATE ON DEADLY TITAN SUBMERSIBLE IMPLOSION NEARLY ONE YEAR LATER
The Titan imploded on June 18, 2023, setting off a worldexpansive talk about about the future of personal undersea exploration.
Coast Guard members of the spendigative board for the Titan marine board establishal hearing apvalidate an oath inside the Charleston County Council Chambers on Sept. 16, 2024, in North Charleston, South Carolina. (AP Ptoastyo/Mic Smith)
The submersible was left exposed to the elements while in storage for seven months in 2022 and 2023, Coast Guard reconshort-termatives shelp in their initial retags Monday. The hull was also never appraiseed by any third parties as is standard procedure, they shelp. That and its unconservative summarize subjected the Titan to scruminuscule in the undersea exploration community.
The hearing’s first witness, OceanGate’s establisher engineering honestor, Tony Nissen, testified Monday that he felt rushed to begin operations during his time with the company. When asked if there was presstateive to get the Titan into the water, he reacted “100%.”
The marine board also asked Nissen if he felt that the presstateive settled getedty decisions and testing. After a lengthy paparticipate, he reacted, “No. … That’s a difficult ask to answer, becaparticipate given infinite time and infinite budget, you could do infinite testing.”
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Nissen also remarkd that the Titan was struck by weightlessning during a test leave oution in 2018, and that might have settled its hull. He shelp he was fired in 2019, the same year he wouldn’t let the submersible go to the Titanic. He shelp he also telderly Rush the Titan was “not laboring appreciate we thought it would.”
The establisher engineering honestor shelp the submersible tardyr went thraw other tests and adfairments before its subsequent dives to the Titanic. However, he shelp he didn’t suppose the operations staff and testified that when Stockton asked him to pilot the submersible, he replied: “I’m not getting in it.”
Rush could be difficult to labor for and was frequently very troubleed with costs and project schedules, among other rerents, Nissen testified. He shelp Rush would fight for what he wanted, which frequently alterd day to day. He inserted that he tried to uphold his clashes with Rush behind seald doors so that others in the company wouldn’t be recommended.
“Most people would eventuassociate fair back down to Stockton,” he shelp.
This undated image provided by OceanGate Expeditions in June 2021 shows the company’s Titan submersible. (OceanGate Expeditions via AP, File)
The ongoing Marine Board of Investigation is the highest level of marine casualty spendigation directed by the Coast Guard. When the hearing ends, recommendations will be surrenderted to the Coast Guard’s directant. The National Transportation Safety Board is also directing an spendigation.
“There are no words to ease the loss endured by the families impacted by this tragic incident,” shelp Jason Neubauer of the Coast Guard Office of Investigations, who led the hearing. “But we hope that this hearing will help shed weightless on the caparticipate of the tragedy and stop anyskinnyg appreciate this from happening aobtain.”
Among those ended was Stockton Rush, co-establisher of OceanGate, the Washington state company that owned the Titan. The company postponeed operations after the implosion.
Also scheduled to speak were the company’s establisher finance honestor, Bonnie Carl; and establisher condenseor Tym Catterson.
TITAN SUBMERSIBLE RECOVERY EFFORTS CONTINUE WITH HELP OF REMOTELY OPERATED VEHICLE
Some key OceanGate reconshort-termatives are not scheduled to testify. They take part Rush’s widow, Wendy Rush, who was the company’s communications honestor.
The Coast Guard does not comment on the reasons for not calling particular individuals to a particular hearing during ongoing spendigations, shelp Melissa Leake, a spokesperson for the Coast Guard. She inserted that it’s common for a Marine Board of Investigation to “helderly multiple hearing sessions or direct insertitional witness depositions for complicated cases.”
Scheduled to materialize tardyr in the hearing are OceanGate co-establisher Guillermo Sohnlein; establisher operations honestor, David Lochridge; and establisher scientific honestor, Steven Ross, according to a catalog compiled by the Coast Guard. Numerous protect officials, scientists, and regulatement and industry officials are also awaited to testify. The U.S. Coast Guard subpoenaed witnesses who were not regulatement participateees, Leake shelp.
OceanGate has no brimming-time participateees at this time but will be reconshort-termed by an attorney during the hearing, the company shelp in a statement. The company has been brimmingy cooperating with the Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board spendigations since they began, the statement shelp.
The implosion also ended veteran Titanic scrutinizer Paul-Henri Nargeolet; two members of a famous Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-elderly son Suleman Dawood; and British adventurer Hamish Harding.
Coast Guard members of the spendigative board for the Titan marine board establishal hearing paparticipate for a moment of silence inside the Charleston County Council Chambers on Sept. 16, 2024, in North Charleston, South Carolina. (AP Ptoastyo/Mic Smith)
The Titan lost reach out with its help vessel about two hours after it made its final dive tardyr. When it was inestablished overdue, savers rushed ships, structurees and other providement to an area about 435 miles south of St. John’s, Newestablishland.
The search for the submersible enticeed worldexpansive attention, as it became increasingly doubtful that anyone could have persistd the implosion. Wreckage of the Titan was subsequently establish on the ocean floor about 330 yards off the bow of the Titanic, Coast Guard officials shelp.
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The time structure for the spendigation was initiassociate a year, but the inquiry has apvalidaten lengthyer. The Coast Guard shelp in July that the hearing would delve into “all aspects of the loss of the Titan,” including both mechanical ponderations as well as compliance with regulations and crew member qualifications.
The Titan had been making voyages to the Titanic wreckage site going back to 2021.
