The US Coast guard released the previously unseen footage of the Titan Sub on Tuesday (17 September)
The US Coast Guard has released new, unseen footage of the doomed Titan sub after the last words of the crew and a photo of the wreckage were revealed.
During a hearing over the past few days that has been held by the US Coast Guard, new evidence has come to light over the doomed Titan submersible.
It was revealed that the final words of those onboard the sub to support vessel the Polar Prince ship on the surface were ‘all good’, before all five passengers sadly perished.
Onboard the sub were OceanGate’s CEO Stockton Rush, the British explorer Hamish Harding, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman, and veteran French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
Those onboard were taking a trip in the OceanGate vessel to venture 12,500 feet below sea level in the Atlantic Ocean to look at the wreckage of the Titanic on the ocean floor.
However, the vessel was never heard from again after its final message on 18 June 2023, and it was later confirmed by the US Coast Guard that the vessel was destroyed by a ‘catastrophic implosion’.
The search for the Titan sub dominated headlines for the following week, with a ‘debris field’ discovered in the ocean presumed to be human remains.
As the two-week long South Carolina-hearing has only recently begun, more evidence is sure to come to light over the next few days.
The hearing aims to investigate the alleged negligence of OceanGate in the tragic incident, and the reasons behind failings in the search.
The Titan sub was on the descent as the Polar Prince, requested information such as its depth and weight as it made its way down, while asking to confirm that they could still see the vessel on its display, before their final words.
The hearing is expected to last two weeks (Pelagic Research Services)
The first photo of the submersible on the ocean floor was then released, revealing the Titan sub on the ocean floor, with the aft tail cone sticking out of the ocean floor, 3,775m deep with other debris.
It was taken by a remotely operated vehicle on 22 June, 2023, where a search of the ocean floor took place after the disappearance of the sub.
But now, footage has emerged of the sub being discovered, as the camera pans around the cone of the sub in the ocean floor, revealing that a big panel has also fallen off the sub.
The camera then looks around for other significant pieces of debris, but nothing else is found.
Footage of the sub has finally been released (6abc Philadelphia)
The company’s former engineer director, Tony Nissen, also spoke at the hearing, revealing that he wasn’t ‘surprised that it failed where it did’.
He explained that he saw rapid decompression of one of the company’s models in testing, and when flagged, the Chief Executive of the company contracted to make the hull for the submersible, Brian Spencer, was ‘not willing to change anything that he did’.
Titan sub inquiry – everything we know from the investigation so far
A public hearing into the five deaths of the people onboard OceanGate’s ill-fated Titan submersible began on Monday (16 September).
It is expected to last two weeks.
Titan was ‘unregistered, non-certificated and unclassed’
The first day of the hearing (16 September) heard how the submersible was built in 2020 and was ‘unregistered, non-certificated and unclassed’, as well as having no identification number.
The submersible’s hull was never subject to third-party checks and officials said it was left exposed to the elements while in storage for seven months in 2022 and 2023.
Parts of Titan ‘bonded together using an adhesive’
In 2017, the year OceanGate announced it would be conducting trips to the Titanic, employees bonded together the submersible’s carbon fibre hull and titanium rings ‘using an adhesive’.
Titan found ‘partially sunk’ month before tragedy
During its 2023 expedition, the Titan was found ‘partially sunk’ in the ocean.
Image released of Titan debris on sea floor
An image showing debris, including the Titan’s tail cone, on the sea floor after the implosion was revealed.
(US Coast Guard)
Titan lost contact with support ship
Those onboard the Titan were communicating with support staff on the Polar Prince ship by text messages.
After a number of exchanges, Titan crew lost contact with Polar Prince as it descended.
One of last texts from submersible revealed
One of Titan’s final responses was revealed to be: “All good here.”
Titan ‘struck by lightening’
Tony Nissen, OceanGate Expeditions’ former engineering director, testified that the Titan was hit by lightening during a test mission in 2018.
Nissen, who was allegedly fired in 2019 after not letting the submersible go to the Titanic, told OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush it was ‘not working like we thought it would’.
When asked to pilot the submersible, Nissen said: “I’m not getting in it.”
Titan engineer ‘felt pressure to get submersible ready for wreck dive’
When asked if there was pressure to get the Titan into the water, Nissen replied: “100%.”
Waivers
While Bonnie Carl, OceanGate’s former human resources and finance director, said she was aware of a waiver people had to sign, however she didn’t see some passengers sign one.
“When I was taking money, we hadn’t even finished building the Titan,” Carl claimed.
‘No red flags’ on day Titan went missing
Former OceanGate contractor Tym Catterson said: “There were no red flags… it was a good day.”
