Oceangate tragedy: Released footage raises questions about safety standards
American officials have released footage of the submarine "Titan," wreckage which went missing over a year ago. Hearings have also commenced regarding the tragedy. Former OceanGate Chief Operating Officer David Lochridge assessed that the accident was "inevitable."
The "Titan" submarine, owned by OceanGate, submerged on 18 June 2023, carrying, among others, OceanGate's CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Pakistani millionaire Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman.
The tourists intended to view the wreck of the "Titanic," located at a depth of about 3,800 metres, roughly 600 kilometres from the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The cost to participate in this expedition was $250,000 (around £189,000) per person. Contact with the "Titan" was lost in just under two hours after submerging. A few days later, the wreckage of the submarine was found, and experts determined that an implosion had occurred.
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) released a video showing the wreckage of the underwater vessel. Transcripts of the crew's communication with the unit from which the Titan set out were also revealed. Using a search robot, the footage was recorded on 22 June 2023, four days after the disaster.
The conversation log between the ship and the Titan's crew indicates no problems or malfunctions were noticed during the voyage. The last message was sent an hour and a half after submersion at a depth of about 3,000 metres and concerned the release of some ballast, which was intended to slow down the descent. A few seconds later, contact with the Titan was lost.
The footage from the bottom of the Atlantic sheds light on the possible events. The only relatively intact component of the Titan was the stern - the remaining parts were in ruins. Unlike the front section where the crew was located, the stern was not filled with air, allowing water to flow freely. DNA of all the men was found on the wreckage of the Titan.
It is still unknown what caused the accident. Investigators are set to present a possible scenario of the tragic events next year.
According to the "Guardian," David Lochridge, former Chief Operating Officer of OceanGate, testified before the USCG, calling the accident "inevitable." His testimony emerged as the Coast Guard released video footage of the Titan's remains for the first time.
He claimed that safety standards were compromised for profit and warned the company that the submarine's hull might not withstand the journey to the Titanic wreck.
Lochridge also mentioned that OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush had crashed another underwater vessel during a 2016 dive to the Andrea Doria wreck off the coast of Massachusetts. Lochridge was dismissed in 2018.
