US Coast Guard Releases Video Of Titan Sub’s Final Moments Before Implosion

A newly released video from the U.S. Coast Guard reveals the final moments before OceanGate’s Titan submersible imploded during its deep-sea dive to the Titanic wreck site on June 18, 2023.

All five people on board were killed in the accident.

The footage submitted as evidence to the U.S. Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation shows Wendy Rush, OceanGate’s director and the wife of CEO Stockton Rush, closely monitoring the sub’s descent. She is seen alongside OceanGate team member Gary Foss on the support ship, Polar Prince.

About 90 minutes after the dive began, a faint “bang” is heard in the video. Mrs. Rush is seen reacting to the sound and asking, “What was that bang?” That noise was later confirmed to be the sound of the Titan’s hull collapsing under intense deep-sea pressure, at a depth of roughly 3,300 meters.

Shortly after the bang, a delayed message was received from the submersible. It mentioned the release of two ballast weights, which, for a brief time, gave the surface team hope that the dive was progressing normally.

However, investigators later confirmed that the message had been sent just moments before the sub imploded and was delayed due to transmission lags.

The five people who died in the Titan submersible were French diving specialist Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British billionaire and adventurer Hamish Harding, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, Pakistani-British businessman Shahzada Dawood, and his 19-year-old son Suleman.

The disaster led to a large international search operation. Debris from the sub was eventually located near the Titanic wreck on the seafloor.

Investigators later revealed that there had been repeated warnings about the Titan’s design, particularly its carbon fiber hull. Experts had raised concerns about the material’s vulnerability to pressure-related fatigue during deep-sea dives.

Despite the warnings, OceanGate continued to offer the Titanic expeditions, charging passengers $250,000 per seat.

The Coast Guard’s full investigation, which took two years and included this newly released footage, is featured in the BBC documentary Implosion: The Titanic Sub Disaster.

A Netflix documentary on the tragedy is also expected to be released soon, offering further insight into one of the most widely discussed maritime disasters in recent years.

References: CNN, BBC

Source: Maritime Shipping News