Titan submersible implosion

2023 Titan submersible incident

Map of the route taken by the Titan
Date	June 18–19, 2023 (current)
Location	North Atlantic, near the Wreck of the Titanic
Participants	OceanGate Expeditions
Outcome	Submersible missing, search and rescue operation underway

On June 18, 2023, the Titan, a submersible operated by OceanGate Expeditions, went missing in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada. The submersible, designed to carry five people, was carrying an expedition of tourists to view the wreckage of RMS Titanic.

Background

See also: Titanic, Sinking of the Titanic, and Wreck of the Titanic

RMS Titanic was a British ocean liner that sank in the North Atlantic on April 15, 1912, after colliding with an iceberg. In 1985, its wreckage was discovered around 400 nautical miles (740 km) off the coast of Newfoundland. The wreck lies at a depth of about 12,500 feet (3,800 metres; 2,100 fathoms).

Titan is a 5-person vessel made of carbon fiber and titanium operated by OceanGate, Inc. The vessel is designed to dive to depths up to 4 km (13,000 ft) "for site survey and inspection, research and data collection, film and media production, and deep sea testing of hardware and software." According to OceanGate, it contains "proprietary Real Time Hull Health Monitoring (RTM) systems ... that [assess] the integrity of the hull throughout every dive." The vessel has life support to support five crew members for 96 hours.

Typically onboard each dive are "a pilot, three paying guests, and what the company calls a content expert." Once near the dive site, the descent from the surface to the Titanic typically takes two hours, with the full dive taking approximately eight hours. Throughout the journey, the submersible is intended to communicate with the above-water crew every 15 minutes.

OceanGate intended to have multiple expeditions to the Titanic in 2023, but due to poor weather in Newfoundland, the company would only have a single expedition this year. Individuals who travel to the Titanic with OceanGate, referred to as "Mission Specialists" by the company, spend US$250,000 for an opportunity to be involved in the eight-day expedition.

David Pogue, a reporter who went on the expedition in 2022, stated that all individuals who go aboard the Titan sign a waiver indicating they know it is an "experimental" vessel, "that has not been approved or certified by any regulatory body, and could result in physical injury, disability, emotional trauma or death".

Incident

File:Hamish-harding.jpg

Hamish Harding is among those on board.

On June 17, the expedition to Titanic departed from St John's, Newfoundland, aboard the research and expedition ship MV Polar Prince. On the morning of June 18, the expedition began dive operations and contact was lost about 1 hour and 45 minutes into the dive. It was reported overdue at about 9:13 p.m. according to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax.

The family of Hamish Harding confirmed he was on the vessel. Also onboard are Stockton Rush, OceanGate, Inc. chief executive and founder, and Paul-Henry Nargeolet, a former French Navy commander and member of the French Institute for Research and Exploitation of the Sea (IFREMER). Nargeolet is "a deep diver and submersible pilot" who is "widely considered the leading authority on the wreck site." He is "director of underwater research for E/M Group and RMS Titanic, Inc." and "has led several expeditions to the Titanic site and supervised the recovery of 5,000 artifacts."

A number of potential errors could have occurred. One possibility is that the Titan's communication equipment may have failed, meaning they are unable to communicate with above-water crew but able to freely navigate. It's also possible there is a problem with the ballast system, which controls the vessel's descent and ascent. Another scenario is that the Titan became "hung up on a piece of wreckage that could keep it from being able to return to the surface."

Search and rescue operations

On June 19, crews from the Northeast Sector of the United States Coast Guard, based out of Boston, launched search missions for the submersible and the five persons aboard it 900 nautical miles (1,700 km) off the shore of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax reported that a Royal Canadian Air Force Lockheed CP-140 Aurora aircraft is a part of the search.

The Coast Guard has indicated that the search and rescue mission is difficult due to the the remote location, but Rear Admiral Mauger has stated they are "deploying all available assets." Beyond the difficulty of the location, all search and rescue operations at are impacted by "weather conditions, the lack of light at night, the state of the sea and water temperature"; below-water search and rescue is even more difficult. While many submersibles are equipped "with an acoustic device, often called a pinger, which emits sounds that can be detected underwater by rescuers," it is unclear whether the Titan has such a device.

The search currently has two facets: an above water surface search and underwater sonar search. This involves utilizing three C-130 Hercules aircraft, two from the United States and one from Canada, as well as a P-8 aircraft equipped with sonar capability. Neither country has underwater vessels capable of easily assisting in the search and research missions. The US Navy has a single submarine, though it cannot reach the Titan's potential depth, as well as remote-operated vehicles, which may have difficulty getting to the site in time.