Patents, lawsuits, safety concerns — then tragedy. A timeline of OceanGate's Titan sub.
A mission to explore the remains of the Titanic went horribly awry on June 18, riveting the world as search crews raced against time to find a submersible that vanished during an attempted dive to the ocean floor, where paying passengers and Stockton Rush III, founder of the submersible company OceanGate, could view the Titanic wreckage.
On Thursday the U.S. Coast Guard announced pieces of the submersible were found scattered across a debris field a third of a mile from the Titanic. OceanGate issued a statement saying, "We grieve the loss of life" of those aboard.
Records show the tragedy was preceded by a long path toward developing a craft that would reach the ocean depths where the Titanic rests. They also show a history of safety concerns.
Retrace the development of OceanGate, a Bahamian-registered corporation, and its submersibles, and the search for the missing Titan, with this timeline.
2009: OceanGate is founded
A provider of manned deep-sea submersibles, OceanGate starts operations on the West Coast, the company has stated in news releases. Its founder is Stockton Rush III, who graduated from Princeton University with a BSE in aerospace, aeronautical and astronautical engineering in 1984 and obtained an MBA at the University of California Berkeley's Haas School of Business in 1989, according to his biography on OceanGate’s website.
February 2012: OceanGate expands to Florida and the Caribbean
It's registered as a corporation in Miami, with Guillermo Sohnlein as president and Rush as secretary. Documents state the company incorporated in Washington State in Dec. 2011.
May 2013: Collaboration announced with University of Washington
OceanGate says it will collaborate with the school's Applied Physics Lab on Project Cyclops I, a new 3000-meter 5-person submersible. (The University clarified on June 23 that they only completed about $650,000 worth of work on a $5 million research collaborative agreement before parting ways. The collaboration resulted in a steel-hulled vessel that can only travel to a depth of 500 meters, the University stated.)
June 2013: Studies invasive fish
OceanGate teams up with Nova Southeastern University to study invasive lionfish in Florida.
August 2013: Submersible feasibility study concludes
OceanGate announces University of Washington completes design feasibility study for hull design for Cyclops I submersible.
June 2015: Report published on submersible
Rush and science and technology director Erika Montague, publish a report on Cyclops I with Peter Brodsky, an engineer at the University of Washington.
November 2015: Some of the earliest paying customers sign up for trip
Marc and Sharon Hagle sign a contract and pay $10,000 deposits to OceanGate to participate in an expedition to the Titanic.
June 2016: OceanGate submersible dives to wreck
One of the company's submersibles dives over the wreck of the Andrea Doria off Nantucket.
March 2017: OceanGate announces Titanic dive
Company announces it will conduct the first manned submersible dives to Titanic since 2005, and that private citizens may join the expedition as mission specialists for $105,129 each.
Mid-2017: Refund or not?
The Hagles begin pondering whether to ask OceanGate for a refund of their deposit. Rush visits their home to reassure them.
August 2017: One step completed
OceanGate completes assembly of core pressure vessel, bonding two titanium rings to the ends of a 56-inch wide, 100-inch-long carbon-fiber cylinder.
January 2018: Launch and recovery testing
OceanGate tweets it successfully tested the launch and recovery platform of Cyclops 2.
February 2018: Cyclops 2 becomes Titan
Engineering team hands over Cyclops 2 to operations team, renames submersible vessel.
The Hagles wire OceanGate an additional $190,258 to pay for their planned Titan expedition.
March 2018: Safety concerns raised
A trade group, the Marine Technology Society, sends a letter to OceanGate — Reported by the New York Times in June 2023 — to express unanimous concern regarding development of the Titan submersible and its planned Titanic Expedition.
April 2018: Expedition canceled
Hagles say OceanGate cancels June 2-9, 2018 expedition and reschedules it to July 2019.
July 2018: Lawsuit emerges
August 2018: Safety concerns
Lochridges file a counterclaim in the lawsuit, alleging a series of safety concerns about the Titan submersible.
November 2018: Case dismissed
Parties settle in the OceanGate v. Lochridge case.
December 2018: Another milestone
CBS This Morning publishes a story saying Rush reached a depth of 13,000 feet during a dive in the Titan in the Bahamas, a key milestone in his plan to dive to the Titanic in 2019.
April 2019: A new patent
U.S. Patent Office assigns OceanGate a patent for systems to recover objects in aquatic environments.
June 2019: Expedition delay
OceanGate delays 2019 Titanic expedition, says it will take place in June 2020.
October 2019: Expedition canceled
Hagles receive email saying OceanGate cancels 2020 expedition.
January 2020: Raising money
OceanGate announces it has raised $18 million in equity financing, which it will use to expand its fleet of deep-sea submersibles to set the stage for 2021 dives to the Titanic.
February 2020: NASA to partner
NASA announces it will partner with OceanGate to develop and manufacture new carbon fiber pressure vessels. (NASA told USA TODAY on June 23 that it "consulted on materials and manufacturing processes for the submersible." Lance Davis, acting news chief for the Marshall Space Flight Center, said the agency "did not conduct testing and manufacturing via its workforce or facilities, which were done elsewhere by OceanGate.")
November 2020: Tourist dives to start
Dozens of international news stories say OceanGate will start its first tourist dives to the Titanic in 2021.
March 2021: Astronaut joins expedition
OceanGate and NASA astronaut and physician Dr. Scott Parazynski announce he will join the Titanic expedition.
May 2021: OceanGate provides plans to federal overseer
The U.S. District Court oversees legal issues involving the Titanic under an open 1993 court case. In May 2021, David Concannon, a legal and operations consultant to OceanGate, sent a letter to the court outlining its expedition plans, saying it will be "the first of many" and will be conducted under NOAA guidelines.
"The exploration team will conduct annual surveys of the wreck in collaboration with scientific and imaging experts from multiple organizations as part of an on-going long-term study to document the current conditionof the Titanic maritime heritage site."
The letter assured the court the vessel would not move or retrieve any artifacts and would deposit any ballast "well clear of the wreck and debris field." It ended with an invitation to the judge to join the expedition as a guest of OceanGate.
June 2021: Another patent
U.S. patent issued to OceanGate for systems and methods for launching and recovering objects in aquatic environments.
July 2021: Titanic success
OceanGate completes its first submersible dive to the Titanic, with a team that includes Rush, Scott Griffith and PH Nargeolet, a former French Naval commander and submersible pilot. The company says a series of yearly expeditions will help record the Titanic’s rate of decay and map the artifacts found on the site.
September 2021: A patent for monitoring integrity
OceanGate receives patent for systems for curing, testing, validating, rating and monitoring the integrity of composite structures.
November 2021: Tickets for sale for next expedition
OceanGate announces 2022 expedition to Titanic, price to ride rises to $250,000.
May 2022: OceanGate updates court on expedition plans
OceanGate sends a letter notifying the District Court that it plans five photographic and scientific survey "missions" to the wreck site of the Titanic during the summer of 2022 and includes a copy of its draft science plan.
"Every effort will be made to avoid contact with the wreck itself, and no artifacts or scientific samples will be collected from the wreck itself. However, this year the expedition does plan to take free floating water samples throughout the water column and on the bottom, as part of OceanGate’s scientific efforts to collect environmental DNA in conjunction with its partners at the University of North Carolina and University of Edinburgh."
July 2022: Expedition encounters difficulties
CBS correspondent David Pogue goes on a Titanic expedition with OceanGate. On one dive, the submersible never finds the Titanic.
August 2022: Video shows submersible dive
OceanGate releases high definition video from its 2022 trip to the Titanic.
January 2023: A tally of dives so far
A Guardian story reports OceanGate Expeditions has taken about 60 customers and 15-20 researchers down to the Titanic in its submersible.
February 2023: Couple alleges fraudulent inducement
The Hagles sue Rush in Orange County, Florida circuit court, alleging fraudulent inducement and violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
April 2023: OceanGate sends 2023 plan to court
Concannon sends a letter to the District Court saying the 2023 expedition will begin in early May and continue in 8-day segments through the end of June.
"Each dive will consist of the deployment of the 5-person submersible Titan, which has a 4,000m/13,120 ft. depth capability (with a comfortable safety margin). Constructed of titanium and filament wound carbon fiber, the innovative vessel has proven to be a safe and comfortable vessel proven to withstand the enormous pressures of the deep ocean," the letter states.
The participating scientists and archaeologists on previous dives "are compiling and analyzing theirfindings. The company and science team collaborated with eDNAtec, headquartered in St. John’s Newfoundland, to analyze environmental DNA found in water samples collected near the wreck and at a natural reef site nearby. This collaboration will continue in 2023. eDNAtec intends to make all gene sequences available through GenBank at the conclusion of their analysis."
May 26, 2023: Titanic expedition underway
Ocean Gate Expeditions tweets a photo of 24 people on deck, saying: "It's been an exciting week with our Mission 2 crew!"
June 1, 2023: In the 'middle of the North Atlantic'
OceanGate Expeditions tweets "Despite being in the middle of the North Atlantic, we have the internet connection we need to make our #Titanic dive operations a success - thank you @Starlink!"
June 15, 2023: Missions underway
OceanGate tweets: "Despite being in the middle of the North Atlantic, we have the internet connection we need to make our #Titanic dive operations a success - thank you @Starlink!"
June 17, 2023: Harding posts dive planned next day
Hamish Harding, chairman of Action Aviation, posts on Facebook that he has joined OceanGate Expeditions for the Titan mission and will be on an attempted dive on June 18.
June 18, 2023: Day ends in disaster
8:00 a.m. – Titan begins a descent from the Canadian research vessel the Polar Prince to the Titanic wreck, a trip expected to take two hours to reach the ocean floor, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
9:45 a.m. – Communications cease between the Titan and its mothership, about 90 minutes into the trip.
Unknown time – Navy acoustic equipment detects an "anomaly" in the vicinity of the site.
3:00 p.m. – Titan fails to appear at the expected time for resurfacing
5:40 p.m. – Coast Guard receives a report on an overdue 21-foot submersible, with five people on board, diving to view the wreckage of the Titanic, approximately 900 nautical miles East of Cape Cod.
June 19, 2023: Search underway
Coast Guard says one of its C-130 Hercules aircraft and crew, as well as a Canadian P8 aircraft with underwater sonar capability, are searching for the submersible.
June 20, 2023: Hope flares
The Canadian aircraft reports hearing "underwater noises in the search area."
Coast Guard establishes a command to help coordinate multiple vessels conducting search operations, says 10,000 square miles have been searched, including a Bahamian research vessel using a remotely operated vehicle and another C-130 crew. Coast Guard reports eight vessels enroute, including five Canadian ships, a French research vessel, the motor vessel Horizon Arctic and the commercial vessel Skandi Vinland.
June 21, 2023: Search continues
Coast Guard reports a third C-130 enroute, as well as a Magellan ROV. The Navy is sending experts and a Deep Ocean Salvage System designed to lift underwater objects.
June 22, 2023: Debris field located
11:48 a.m. Coast Guard announces a debris field has been discovered by an ROV from the Horizon Arctic near the Titanic, likely the result of a catastrophic implosion.
OceanGate announces the crew of the Titan has been lost.
June 23, 2023: Lawsuit dropped
The Hagles, adventurers who became the first married couple on a commercial spaceflight last year, drop their lawsuit. They state: “Money is a driving force in our economy, but honor, respect and dignity are more important to the human soul."
June 24, 2023: Canada to investigate
Canada's Transportation Safety Board says it will investigate the Polar Prince, Titan's mothership, owned by Horizon Maritime. The company also owns the Horizon Arctic, the ship whose crew found the Titan wreckage.
June 25, 2023: Coast Guard to investigate
The Coast Guard says its Marine Board of Investigation will lead an investigation into the loss of the Titan. The MBI'S chairman, Capt. Jason Neubauer, says his primary goal is to "prevent a similar occurrence by making the necessary recommendations to advance the safety of the maritime domain worldwide."
June 28, 2023: Titan debris recovered
The Horizon Arctic vessel brings pieces of the Titan back to shore in St. John's, Newfoundland. After consulting with international partners, the Coast Guard intends to take the evidence to a U.S. port for further analysis and testing. A news release says medical professionals will conduct "a formal analysis of presumed human remains that have been carefully recovered within the wreckage."
July 2, 2023: OceanGate shutting down
OceanGate Expeditions updates its website to say it is ceasing operations.
Contributing: Grace Hauck
Missing sub: Mapping and visualizing debris found near titanic
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: OceanGate's Titan timeline: Lost submersible went to the Titanic
