Titanic sub update – Deep-sea robot pictured in Titan implosion recovery effort as teen’s mother speaks out

The mother of the teenager who died on the Titanic submersible said she was meant to be onboard instead of her son.

Christine Dawood said her husband, Shahzade, and son, Suleman, were “excited” to go on the mission to see the Titanic.

She said it was her husband’s “life-long dream” and so the couple had planned to go down to do the tour together.

“It was supposed to be Shahzade and I are going down, and then I stepped back and gave the space to Suleman because he really wanted to go,” she said.

The father and son were among the five people aboard the OceanGate Titan submersible who died during a “catastrophic implosion” as it descended to the wreck of the ocean liner in the Atlantic Ocean last week.

Ms Dawood and her 17-year-old daughter, Alina, were on the Polar Prince, the sub’s support vessel, when the Titan lost communications and was never heard from again, she told the BBC.

The Coast Guard announced debris from the sub was located approximately 12,500 feet (3,810 metres) underwater and 1,600 feet away from the Titanic wreckage.

Key points

• Mother of teenager killed in Titanic sub implosion gave up spot for ‘excited’ son

• Family of billionaire and son lost were aboard support ship, mother reveals

• US Coast Guard to lead investigation of sub disaster

• Why did the Titanic sub implode?

• Will the passengers’ bodies ever be found?

OceanGate headquarters ‘indefinitely closed’

16:42 , Andrea Blanco

The company that operated the Titan closed its headquarters in Everett, Washington State, following the vessel’s implosion, which killed OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and British billionaire Hamish Harding, French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his teenage son Suleman Dawood.

The leasing agent said in a statement to The Seattle Times that the company would be closing indefinitely.

Voice recordings under scrutiny in Titanic sub implosion investigation

15:53 , Andrea Blanco

Voice recordings and other data will be reviewed as part of a US Coast Guard-appointed expert board’s probe into the catastrophic implosion of the Titan submersible last week.

The Independent has more:

Voice recordings under scrutiny in Titanic sub implosion investigation

VOICES: Why ‘dark tourists’ pay to put their lives at risk

15:33 , Andrea Blanco

“The phenomenon of “dark tourism” has fascinated researchers for many years, but tourists are being increasingly drawn to places associated with atrocity, violence and disaster. Historic sites include Auschwitz-Birkenau, Chernobyl (before the war in Ukraine) and Ground Zero. However, “experiences” can now be excursions to sites of slavery, war, the famous dead, serial murder, natural disasters and, as in the case of the OceanGate trip, maritime tragedies such as the Titanic.”

Dr Donna Poade writes:

Opinion: Why ‘dark tourists’ pay to put their lives at risk

‘Recovery of items from sea floor’ is top priority, US Coast Guard says

15:00 , Andrea Blanco

The Coast Guard opened a marine board investigation on Friday and is working with the FBI to salvage debris on the sea floor at a depth of more than two miles below the surface.

Captain Jason Neubauer, chief investigator with the US Coast Guard, told reporters on Sunday, that that the “priority of the investigation is to recover items from the sea floor.”

The Independent’s Graeme Massie reports:

US Coast Guard declares ‘recovery of items from sea floor’ as Titanic sub priority

Titan submersible’s thrusters put on ‘backwards’ during terrifying 2022 trip

14:14 , Andrea Blanco

Resurfaced footage shows the terrifying moment the Titan submarine’s thrusters stopped working during a 2022 expedition to the Titanic wreck.

In an episode of the Travel Show on the BBC, a group of fee-paying visitors travel in the submersible to see the sunken liner.

“I’m thrusting and nothing is happening... One of the thrusters is thrusting backwards right now,” a crew member says.

The crew were told by OceanGate Expeditions CEO Stockton Rush to rotate the games controller used to steer the vehicle in order to go forwards.

The resurfaced footage comes after five people died on board the submarine after a “catastrophic implosion.”

OceanGate headquarters ‘indefinitely closed’

14:00 , Andrea Blanco

The company that operated the Titan closed its headquarters in Everett, Washington State, following the vessel’s implosion, which killed OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and British billionaire Hamish Harding, French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his teenage son Suleman Dawood.

The leasing agent said in a statement to The Seattle Times that the company would be closing indefinitely.

Who are Shahzada Dawood’s wife Christine and daughter Alina?

13:15 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

More details have emerged about the father and son who died in the Titan disaster as the teenager’s mother reveals she was on board the support boat when the implosion happened.

Christine Dawood, mother of 19-year-old Suleman Dawood and wife to Shahzada Dawood, both of whom were on the doomed submersible, has revealed she gave up her place on the trip so her son could go.

Ms Dawood and her 17-year-old daughter, Alina, were on the Polar Prince, the sub’s support vessel, when the Titan lost communications and was never heard from again, she told the BBC.

Who are Shahzada Dawood’s wife Christine and daughter Alina?

Canadian police weigh criminal investigation

13:00 , Andrea Blanco

Police in Canada announced on Saturday that they are considering a criminal investigation over the deaths of five men in the OceanGate submersible implosion.

Superintendent Kent Osmond of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Newfoundland and Labrador said law enforcement were in the early stages of the probe.

The Independent’s Ariana Baio reports:

Canadian police weigh criminal investigation over Titan sub disaster

Mother of teenager killed in Titanic sub implosion gave up spot for ‘excited’ son

12:26 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The mother of the teenager who died on the Titanic submersible said she was meant to be onboard instead of her son.

Christine Dawood said her husband, Shahzade, and son, Suleman, were “excited” to go on the mission to see the Titanic.

She said it was her husband’s “life-long dream” and so the couple had planned to go down to do the tour together.

“It was supposed to be Shahzade and I are going down, and then I stepped back and gave the space to Suleman because he really wanted to go,” she said.

Will the passengers’ bodies ever be found?

12:00 , Andrea Blanco

Due to the depth of the debris and the nature of the passengers’ deaths, it is unlikely that their remains will ever be found.

In Thursday’s press conference confirming the deaths of the five men on board, Rear Adm Mauger said the Coast Guard was “not sure” if the bodies could be recovered.

“This is an incredibly unforgiving environment down there on the sea floor and the debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel,” he said.

“And so we’ll continue to work and continue to search the area down there, but I don’t have an answer for prospects at this time.”

WATCH: Missing Titanic submarine: What happened to the Titan tourist submersible?

11:00

Teenage Titanic submarine victim’s mother shares last moments she had with son

10:52 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The mother of a teenager who died in the Titan submersible has shared the last words she exhanged with her son.

Suleman Dawood, 19, and his father Shahzada Dawood, died on board the submarine alongside three other passengers: OceanGate Expeditions CEO Stockton Rush, British businessman Hamish Harding, 58, and renowned French diver Paul-Henry Nargeolet, 77.

Christine Dawood was on the submersible’s support ship accompanied by her daughter when she learned that communication with the vessel had been lost.

In her first interview, Ms Dawood described the last moments she shared with her son.

“We just hugged, and joked actually.”

Teenage Titanic submarine victim’s mother shares last moments she had with son

US Coast Guard debunks pictures ‘showing Titan’s wreck’

10:00 , Andrea Blanco

Photographs circulating online, which internet users claimed showed the remains of OceanGate’s Titan submersible, have been debunked.

The US Coast Guard confirmed to the Associated Press reported that there are no public images of the wreckage so far.

Two of the pictures that allegedly showed the Titan’s debris are actually from the remains of the Titanic itself and were taken in 2004.

Watch: Teenage Titanic submersible victim's mother shares last words she shared with son

09:47 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Christine Dawood, the mother of 19-year-old Suleman Dawood who died alongside his father and three others on board the Titan submersible, has shared their last conversation.

Will OceanGate face legal action?

09:00 , Andrea Blanco

Prior to embarking on the journey, the five passengers signed liability waivers accepting that it could result in death.

But, despite this, the waiver may not shield OceanGate from potential lawsuits by the victims’ families.

Timothy E Allen, an attorney and former Secret Service agent, said in a statement to The Independent that waivers won’t protect the company if it turns out there was defects with the sub.

“Submarines operate in a high-pressure environment, and any flaws or weaknesses in the construction, design, or materials used can potentially lead to catastrophic failures such as implosion,” he said.

“If it can be established that the implosion was caused by inherent defects in the mechanics or engineering of the submarine, the responsible party may be held liable, even if a waiver was signed.”

Bodies of missing Titanic sub passengers 'may never be recovered'

08:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The bodies of the five passengers aboard the Titanic sub that was lost in a “catastrophic implosion” near the wreck may never be recovered from the Atlantic, the US Coast Guard said.

The pressure chamber of the OceanGate Titan was found among other debris, approximately 1,600ft from the bow of the Titanic on the sea floor by a remote operated vehicle (ROV) on Thursday.

“This is an incredibly unforgiving environment out there on the sea floor. The debris is consistent with the catastrophic implosion of the vessel. We will continue to work and search the area down there but I don’t have an answer on prospects at this time,” said Rear Admiral John Mauger of the US Coast Guard.

Graeme Massie has more.

Bodies of missing Titanic sub passengers may never be recovered, Coast Guard says

Youtube star MrBeast reveals he was asked to go on OceanGate tour before tragedy

08:00 , Andrea Blanco

Popular YouTuber MrBeast has claimed that he turned down a trip on the Titanic submarine that imploded earlier this week.

Read more:

MrBeast claims he turned down trip on Titanic submarine days before fatal disaster

Titanic to ‘return to Netflix’ on 1 July

07:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The 1997 blockbuster Titanic will return to Netflix in July - just weeks after a doomed expedition to the ocean liner’s resting place on the ocean floor.

The movie, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet is returning to the streaming platform on 1 July, according to HuffPost, along nearly 100 other titles.

It is unclear whether the decision to add Titanic was made before or after the Titan submersible tragedy this week but some on social media suggested Netflix “could’ve picked a better time” and suggested that the company was seizing on the tragedy to increase viewing figures.

Andrea Blanco reports.

Titanic to ‘return to Netflix’ on 1 July

A British billionaire, father and son and renowned diver: Who was on the Titanic submarine?

07:00 , Andrea Blanco

The pilot and four passengers of the Titan submersible that vanished during a mission to explore the Titanic wreckage are believed to be dead, authorities say.

British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, UK citizens Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood, French national Paul-Henri Nargeolet and OceanGate Expeditions chief executive Stockton Rush had “sadly been lost”, the company announced.

Who was on the missing Titanic submarine?

US Coast Guard investigating cause of Titanic sub implosion

06:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The US Coast Guard yesterday announced it is investigating the cause of the undersea implosion of a tourist submersible that killed all five people aboard while diving to the Titanic wreck.

The announcement comes a day after Canada’s Transportation Safety Board said it was conducting its own investigation into the implosion of the Titan, which has raised questions about the unregulated nature of such expeditions.

“My primary goal is to prevent a similar occurrence by making the necessary recommendations to enhance the safety of the maritime domain worldwide,” Captain Jason Neubauer, the coast guard’s chief investigator said.

The coast guard opened what it calls a marine board investigation on Friday, Mr Neubauer said, and is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to recover evidence, including a salvage operation at the debris site on the seabed.

Who fill foot the bill for rescue efforts?

06:00 , Andrea Blanco

The US Coast Guard declined Friday to provide a cost estimate for its efforts to locate the Titan, the submersible investigators say imploded not far from the world’s most famous shipwreck. The five people lost included a billionaire British businessman and a father and son from one of Pakistan’s most prominent families.

The operator charged passengers $250,000 each to participate in the voyage.

“We cannot attribute a monetary value to Search and Rescue cases, as the Coast Guard does not associate cost with saving a life,” the agency said.

While the Coast Guard’s cost for the mission is likely to run into the millions of dollars, it is generally prohibited by federal law from collecting reimbursement related to any search or rescue service, said Stephen Koerting, a US attorney in Maine who specializes in maritime law.

But that does not resolve the larger issue of whether wealthy travelers or companies should bear responsibility to the public and governments for exposing themselves to such risk.

“This is one of the most difficult questions to attempt to find an answer for,” said Pete Sepp, president of the National Taxpayers Union, noting scrutiny of government-funded rescues dating back to British billionaire Richard Branson’s hot air balloon exploits in the 1990s.

“This should never be solely about government spending, or perhaps not even primarily about government spending, but you can’t help thinking about how the limited resources of rescuers can be utilized,” Sepp said.

AP

French diver helped a company excavate 5,000 artifacts from the Titanic

05:06 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The French billionaire diver who died in the Titan submersible reportedly spent two decades working with a company that had the sole right to retrieve and display artifacts from the Titanic wreck site.

Paul-Henri Nargeolet, one of the five people on board the sub and the most prolific Titanic divers in history, led five expeditions for the private salvage firm RMS Titanic Inc to collect over 5,000 artifacts from the shipwreck, according to Insider.

The artifacts included anything between shaving kits and chandeliers on board the vessel.

Teen who died in Titanic sub wanted to break Rubik’s Cube world record

05:02 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

A teenager who died on the Titan submersible alongside his father had taken a Rubik’s Cube on board in an effort to break a world record, his mother has said.

Suleman Dawood, 19, died on the Titan alongside his father, Shahzada, last week when the vessel suffered an implosion.

Suleman’s mother, Christine Dawood, told BBC that her son “did not go anywhere without his Rubik’s Cube” and had applied to the Guinness World Records.

“He said, ‘I’m going to solve the Rubik’s Cube 3,700 metres below sea at the Titanic’.”

“He was so excited about this.”

Texts reveal how OceanGate CEO tried to sell cut-price trip on doomed Titanic sub: ‘Safer than crossing the street’

05:00 , Andrea Blanco

Text messages have revealed how OceanGate CEO tried to convince a Las Vegas investor to take a trip to the Titanic on the company’s doomed submersible at a reduced rate with alarming claims about how safe it was.

Jay Bloom, a Las Vegas investor, revealed in a Facebook post that he turned down CEO and founder Stockton Rush’s offer of seats on the Titan submersible trip due to safety concerns.

The Independent’s Ariana Baio reports:

Texts reveal how OceanGate CEO tried to sell cut-price trip on doomed Titanic sub

US Coast Guard declares ‘recovery of items from sea floor’ as priority

04:16 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The US Coast Guard said the priority in its investigation into the fatal Titanic submersible implosion is the “recovery of items from the sea floor”.

All five people aboard the OceanGate Titan submersible were killed as it dived to the wreck of the ocean liner in the Atlantic Ocean last week.

The Coast Guard opened a marine board investigation on Friday and is working with the FBI to salvage debris from the sea floor at a depth of more than two miles below the surface.

A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) discovered debris from the Titan around 1,600ft from the bow of the liner days after it lost contact with its mother ship around 1 hour and 45 minutes into the dive.

Graeme Massie reports.

US Coast Guard declares ‘recovery of items from sea floor’ as Titanic sub priority

Why did the Titanic sub imploded?

04:00 , Andrea Blanco

In the days after OceanGate chief executive Stockton Rush and his four-paying crew members went missing on their dive to the wreck of the Titanic, experts had several theories as to their fate.

Perhaps the group had managed to surface and were awaiting rescue amid the Atlantic waves. Perhaps they were trapped underwater within the hull of their broken-down submersible, running out of air.

On Thursday, those worst fears were confirmed after the US Coast Guard announced that it had found pieces of the Titan submersible scattered across the ocean floor about 1,600 feet from the bow of the ill-fated ocean liner.

But what exactly caused the Titan to implode? While we don’t yet know the truth of what happened, we do know enough to have some idea of what might have sealed the sub’s fate.

The Independent’s Io Dodds reports:

Why did the Titanic sub implode?

WATCH: James Cameron likens Titan submersible tragedy to Titanic

03:00 , Andrea Blanco

Mystery implosion, ‘false hope’ rescue and search for blame

02:00 , Andrea Blanco

The desperate search for the missing Titanic submersible came to a tragic end when debris was discovered deep in the ocean, but we still don’t know many crucial aspects of the doomed voyage.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp, Io Dodds and Bevan Hurley report:

These nine questions remain unanswered in the Titanic sub catastrophe

Will the remains of Titan be recovered and how?

01:00 , Andrea Blanco

The US Coast Guard said on Thursday that it will continue the search for debris of the Titan submersible – even after hopes ended to find survivors.

The pressure chamber, the nose cone, the front-end bell and the aft-end bell were found across two debris fields, the US Coast Guard said.

However, it is unclear if the remains of the structure will be recovered and brought to the surface.

The US Navy’s Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System (FADOSS) is capable of recovering items weighing up to 60,000lb from the ocean and had been deployed to the area. While it has the capability to recover the pieces it remains to be seen whether officials will do so now that it is no longer a rescue mission.

Family of billionaire and son lost on Titanic sub were aboard support ship, mother reveals

Monday 26 June 2023 00:15 , Graeme Massie

Christine Dawood says she and her 17-year-old daughter, Alina, were on the Polar Prince when tragedy struck.

Family of billionaire and son lost on Titanic sub were aboard support ship

James Cameron knew about the Titanic sub implosion days before it was found. This is why

Monday 26 June 2023 00:00 , Andrea Blanco

In a series of stunning interviews on Thursday, James Cameron revealed he knew highly sensitive details about the Titan submersible search and rescue mission days before it was released publicly.

Cameron was aware that top secret US Navy listening devices had detected an implosion near the Titanic wreckage within an hour of it occurring on Monday, and has since described the search for the five crew members as a “nightmarish charade”.

He has also claimed that the Titan crew would have known that the submersible’s hull had started to crack and were trying to resurface when the “catastrophic implosion” occurred.

Read more:

James Cameron knew of the Titanic sub implosion days before it was found. This is why

Who is Shahzada Dawood? The Pakistani businessman who died on Titanic submarine with teenage son

Sunday 25 June 2023 23:00 , Andrea Blanco

British-based Pakistani tycoon and his teenage son are among five people who perished aboard the Titanic tourist submarine.

The US Coast Guard announced on Thursday that the remains of the submersible vessel lost in the Atlantic Ocean had been found by an ROV on the ocean bed near the wreck of the famed liner.

Read more:

Who is Shahzada Dawood? Pakistani businessman who died in Titanic sub with teen son

US Coast Guard declares ‘recovery of items from sea floor’ as priority in Titanic sub investigation

Sunday 25 June 2023 21:54 , Andrea Blanco

The US Coast Guard says that its priority in its investigation into the fatal Titanic sub implosion is now the “recovery of items from the sea floor.”

The Independent’s Graeme Massie reports:

US Coast Guard declares ‘recovery of items from sea floor’ as Titanic sub priority

Who fill foot the bill for rescue efforts?

Sunday 25 June 2023 21:15 , Andrea Blanco

When millionaire Steve Fossett’s plane went missing over the Nevada range in 2007, the swashbuckling adventurer had already been the subject of two prior emergency rescue operations thousands of miles apart.

And that prompted a prickly question: After a sweeping search for the wealthy risktaker ended, who should foot the bill?

In recent days, the massive hunt for a submersible vehicle lost during a north Atlantic descent to explore the wreckage of the Titanic has refocused attention on that conundrum. And with rescuers and the public fixated first on saving and then on mourning those aboard, it has again made for uneasy conversation.

“Five people have just lost their lives and to start talking about insurance, all the rescue efforts and the cost can seem pretty heartless — but the thing is, at the end of the day, there are costs,” Arun Upneja, dean of Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration and a researcher on tourism, told the Associated Press.

The U.S. Coast Guard declined Friday to provide a cost estimate for its efforts to locate the Titan, the submersible investigators say imploded not far from the world’s most famous shipwreck. The five people lost included a billionaire British businessman and a father and son from one of Pakistan’s most prominent families.

“We cannot attribute a monetary value to Search and Rescue cases, as the Coast Guard does not associate cost with saving a life,” the agency said.

AP

US Coast Guard debunks pictures ‘showing Titan’s wreck'

Sunday 25 June 2023 19:59 , Andrea Blanco

Photographs circulating online, which internet users claimed showed the remains of OceanGate’s Titan submersible, have been debunked.

The US Coast Guard confirmed to the Associated Press reported that there are no public images of the wreckage so far.

Two of the pictures that allegedly showed the Titan’s debris are actually from the remains of the Titanic itself and were taken in 2004.

Titanic to return to Netflix next month

Sunday 25 June 2023 19:17 , Andrea Blanco

Netflix to stream Titanic from 1 July, just days after the Titan submersible disaster that killed five people.

The five on board were on a mission to visit the ruins of the Titanic ship which sank in 1912, killing 1500 people.

However, Netflix is also facing criticism on social media after the streaming giant released a trailer for its new freediving documentary, The Deepest Breath.

Produced by A24, The Deepest Breath tells the story of Alessia Zecchini, the current holder of the freediving world record.

The trailer was shared on Tuesday (20 June) as rescue efforts were well underway to find the five missing passengers onboard the Titan, which went missing on an expedition to see the Titanic shipwreck.

On Twitter, many Netflix subscribers questioned the timing of the deep-sea-related release given the tragedy.

“The timing of this,” one person commented.

“Probably not the best timing for this,” another agreed.

OceanGate closes headquarters

Sunday 25 June 2023 18:40 , Andrea Blanco

The company that operated the Titan closed its headquarters in Everett, Washington State, following the vessel’s implosion, which killed OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and British billionaire Hamish Harding, French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his teenage son Suleman Dawood.

The leasing agent said in a statement to The Seattle Times that the company would be closing indefinitely.

US and Canada authorities open probe into Titan’s implosion

Sunday 25 June 2023 18:22 , Andrea Blanco

Authorities from the U.S. and Canada began the process of investigating the cause of the fatal Titan submersible implosion even as they grappled with questions of who was responsible for determining how the tragedy unfolded.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Friday that the U.S. Coast Guard has declared the loss of the Titan submersible to be a “major marine casualty” and the Coast Guard will lead the investigation. NTSB spokesperson Peter Knudson said that information was provided to the agency’s senior management by Coast Guard officials, and the NTSB has joined the investigation.

WATCH: Ships return to harbour as Titan submersible recovery operations begin to wind down

Sunday 25 June 2023 17:37 , Andrea Blanco

Titanic’s director ‘struck by similarity of Titan’s disaster’s to sinking of 1912 vessel

Sunday 25 June 2023 16:41 , Andrea Blanco

In an interview with ABC News, the director of the 1997 blockbuster criticised the Titan’s lack of certifications, noting that the tragedy was completely avoidable.

“I’m struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship, and yet, he steamed up full speed into an ice field on a moonless night, and many people died as a result,” James Cameron said.

“And for a very similar tragedy, where warnings went unheeded, to take place at the same exact site, with all the diving that’s going on all around the world, I think it’s just astonishing, it’s really quite surreal.”

Data from Titan’s mother ship to be analysed

Sunday 25 June 2023 15:57 , Andrea Blanco

Canadian officials have revealed that audio and commands between the Titan and its mother ship Polar Prince will be subject to an investigation.

The chair of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, Kathy Fox, said that the crew was interviewed to “collect information from the vessel’s voyage data recorder and other vessel systems that contain useful information,” according to CNN.

Ms Fox noted that the goal was to determine what went wrong after the Titan lost contact with its mother ship just an hour and 45 minutes into its descent to the wreckage of the Titanic.

After ROVs (remotely-operated vehicles) found debris found 1,600 feet from the wreck of the Titanic, the US Coast Guard determined that all five passengers aboard the submersible were killed after the vessel imploded.

The Polar Prince returned to St John’s on Saturday with its flags at half-mast.

American Youtuber reveals he was asked to go on OceanGate tour before tragedy

Sunday 25 June 2023 15:35 , Andrea Blanco

James Donaldson, most known as Mr Beast on Youtube, revealed on Sunday that he was asked to join the Titan crew.

“I was invited earlier this month to ride the titanic submarine, I said no. Kind of scary that I could have been on it,” Mr Donaldson, who is famous on the platform for his videos giving out charity, tweeted.

OceanGate sub’ carbon fiber design 'was not proven as reliable’

Sunday 25 June 2023 15:04 , Andrea Blanco

The submarine expedition to the Titanic that claimed five lives over the weekend relied on a design featuring key components made out of carbon fiber, which experts say hasn’t been proven as a reliable material for deep sea use.

“Innovation is a wonderful thing,” Bart Kemper, a mechanical engineer from the Marine Technology Society, told NBC News. “But everything that is new and not tried introduces uncertainty, and uncertainty is risk.”

The wreck of the Titanic is at about 13,000 feet under the ocean, multiple times deeper than where US Navy subs typically operate. At that depth, pressure is nearly 400 times that of the ocean’s surface.

“It’s a design that’s not been used in this way at this depth,” Mr Kemper added. “All it has to do is fail in one spot and game over.”

Netflix to stream Titanic

Sunday 25 June 2023 15:03 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Netflix to stream Titanic from 1 July, just days after the Titan submersible disaster that killed five people.

The five on board were on a mission to visit the ruins of the Titanic ship which sank in 1912, killing 1500 people.

However, Netflix is also facing criticism on social media after the streaming giant released a trailer for its new freediving documentary, The Deepest Breath.

Produced by A24, The Deepest Breath tells the story of Alessia Zecchini, the current holder of the freediving world record.

The trailer was shared on Tuesday (20 June) as rescue efforts were well underway to find the five missing passengers onboard the Titan, which went missing on an expedition to see the Titanic shipwreck.

On Twitter, many Netflix subscribers questioned the timing of the deep-sea-related release given the tragedy.

“The timing of this,” one person commented.

“Probably not the best timing for this,” another agreed.

Canadian police weigh criminal investigation over Titan sub disaster

Sunday 25 June 2023 14:00 , Ariana Baio

Police in Canada announced on Saturday that they are considering a criminal investigation over the deaths of five men in the Oceangate submersible implosion.

Superintendent Kent Osmond of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Newfoundland and Labrador said law enforcement were in the early stages of the probe.

“Following the US Coast Guard’s announcement earlier this week that debris from the submersible was located and all five on board were presumed dead, we will now look at the circumstances that led to those deaths,” Mr Osmond said, at a press conference.

“Such an investigation will proceed only if our examination of the circumstances indicate criminal, federal or provincial laws may possibly have been broken.”

Ariana Baio reports:

Canadian police weigh criminal investigation over Titan sub disaster

Nine looming questions in Titanic sub catastrophe

Sunday 25 June 2023 13:00 , Ariana Baio

The desperate five-day search for the missing Titan submersible came to a tragic end on Thursday when debris was discovered close to the Titanic shipwreck.

OceanGate CEO and founder Stockton Rush, British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, renowned French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman set off on a trip of a lifetime on Sunday morning (18 June), traveling around 13,000 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean to visit the famed ocean liner’s wreckage.

But the five explorers met a chillingly similar fate to the doomed White Star Line ship more than a century earlier.

Now, as ROVs continue to search the debris field, questions are mounting about what went wrong, whether the tragedy could have been avoided and what happens next.

The Independent reports:

These nine questions remain unanswered in the Titanic sub catastrophe

US and Canada start the process of determining how the Titanic-bound submersible imploded

Sunday 25 June 2023 12:00 , Ariana Baio

Authorities from the U.S. and Canada began the process of investigating the cause of the fatal Titan submersible implosion even as they grappled with questions of who was responsible for determining how the tragedy unfolded.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Friday that the U.S. Coast Guard has declared the loss of the Titan submersible to be a “major marine casualty” and the Coast Guard will lead the investigation. NTSB spokesperson Peter Knudson said that information was provided to the agency’s senior management by Coast Guard officials, and the NTSB has joined the investigation.

Watch: Ships return to harbour as Titan submersible recovery operations begin to wind down

Sunday 25 June 2023 11:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Canada is investigating why the Titanic-bound submersible imploded

Sunday 25 June 2023 10:59 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said Saturday that it’s conducting an investigation into the loss of the Titan submersible and has been speaking with those who traveled on Titan‘s mothership, the Polar Prince.

The development comes as authorities from the U.S. and Canada began the process of probing the cause of the underwater implosion and grappled with questions of who was responsible for determining how the tragedy unfolded.

Maritime agencies are searching the area in the North Atlantic where the vessel was destroyed, killing all five people aboard.

Debris was located about 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) underwater, several hundred feet away from the Titanic wreckage it was on its way to explore.

“We are conducting a safety investigation in Canada given that this was a Canadian-flagged vessel that departed a Canadian port and was involved in this occurrence, albeit in international waters,” said Kathy Fox, chair of the transportation board.

“Other agencies may choose to conduct investigations and that’s up to them.”

Carbon fiber design of OceanGate sub was unproven, experts say

Sunday 25 June 2023 10:00 , Ariana Baio

The submarine expedition to the Titanic that claimed five lives over the weekend relied on a design featuring key components made out of carbon fiber, which experts say hasn’t been proven as a reliable material for deep sea use.

“Innovation is a wonderful thing,” Bart Kemper, a mechanical engineer from the Marine Technology Society, told NBC News. “But everything that is new and not tried introduces uncertainty, and uncertainty is risk.”

The wreck of the Titanic is at about 13,000 feet under the ocean, multiple times deeper than where US Navy subs typically operate. At that depth, pressure is nearly 400 times that of the ocean’s surface.

“It’s a design that’s not been used in this way at this depth,” Mr Kemper added. “All it has to do is fail in one spot and game over.”

Suleman Dawood: Teenager who died on submersible ‘had a sense’ Titanic expedition ‘was not okay’

Sunday 25 June 2023 09:00 , Ariana Baio

Voices: Why ‘dark tourists’ pay to put their lives at risk

Sunday 25 June 2023 08:00 , Ariana Baio

“The phenomenon of “dark tourism” has fascinated researchers for many years, but tourists are being increasingly drawn to places associated with atrocity, violence and disaster. Historic sites include Auschwitz-Birkenau, Chernobyl (before the war in Ukraine) and Ground Zero. However, “experiences” can now be excursions to sites of slavery, war, the famous dead, serial murder, natural disasters and, as in the case of the OceanGate trip, maritime tragedies such as the Titanic.”

Dr Donna Poade writes:

Opinion: Why ‘dark tourists’ pay to put their lives at risk

Flags half-mast as Titan support ship docks at St John’s harbour

Sunday 25 June 2023 07:00 , Ariana Baio

Flags on board the main support ship for the Titan submersible could be seen at half-mast as it began to dock at St John’s harbour.

A Canadian national flag and a Mi’kmaq flag, which represents the North American people who inhabit the Maritime Provinces of Canada, were both at half-mast at either end of the vessel.

Watch: Moment OceanGate co-founder told debris from Titan submersible has been discovered

Sunday 25 June 2023 06:00 , Ariana Baio

Potential Titan passenger reveals OceanGate CEO assured him it was safe

Sunday 25 June 2023 05:00 , Ariana Baio

Jay Bloom, a Las Vegas investor, revealed in a Facebook post that he turned down seats on the Titan submersible trip, offered by OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, due to safety concerns.

In his post, Mr Bloom shared screenshots of messages he exchanged with Mr Rush months before the fatal trip in which he expressed safety concerns for himself and his son, Sean, who was supposed to join him on the excursion.

“I expressed safety concerns and Stockton told me: ‘While there’s obviously risk it’s way safer than flying in a helicopter or even scuba diving.’ I am sure he really believed what he was saying. But he was very wrong,” Mr Bloom wrote.

In text messages, Mr Bloom told Mr Rush that his son was concerned about “stupid” dangers like a giant squid or sperm whale attacking the submersible.

In response, Mr Rush assured Mr Bloom it was safe and due to the intense pressure at the depth of water they would be travelling, neither sperm whale nor giant squid would be able to reach them.

“There hasn’t been even an injury in 35 years in a non-military sub,” Mr Rush texted Mr Bloom.

Mr Bloom said he last saw Mr Rush in early March when the two went to the Titanic Exhibit at Luxor together.

Mr Bloom added: “Then, at lunch in the Luxor food court we talked about the dive, including safety. He was absolutely convinced that it was safer than crossing the street.”

An 1851 maritime law protected the Titanic’s owners in court. Could OceanGate use it too?

Sunday 25 June 2023 04:00 , Ariana Baio

A five-day search for OceanGate Expedition’s tourist submersible came to a grim conclusion on Thursday as officials confirmed the discovery of debris consistent with a “catastrophic implosion” presumed to have claimed the lives of all five passengers.

With recovery efforts to collect the debris underway, focus has turned to whether and how OceanGate could be held liable in court. Experts tell The Independent that one 172-year-old piece of legislation could prove pivotal for the company: the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851.

Sheila Flynn reports:

An 1851 maritime law protected Titanic owners in court. Could OceanGate use it too?

Why did the Titanic sub implode?

Sunday 25 June 2023 03:00 , Ariana Baio

In the days after OceanGate chief executive Stockton Rush and his four paying crew members went missing on their way to the wreck of the Titanic, experts had several theories as to their fate.

But what exactly caused the Titan to implode? While we don’t yet know the truth of what happened, we do know enough to have some idea of what might have sealed the sub’s doom.

Io Dodds reports:

Why did the Titanic sub implode?

Online gamblers made thousands in bets on Titanic search and rescue operation

Sunday 25 June 2023 02:00 , Ariana Baio

Online gamblers bet hundreds of thousands of dollars on whether the submarine that went missing on a recent expedition to the Titanic, in what online critics called a “dystopian” use of digital finance.

Since Wednesday, people wagered at least $300,000 on the fate of the vehicle using the crypto platform Polymarket, Mother Jones reports.

On the site, betters buy and sell shares on the outcomes of events using cryptocurrency, and can redeem their shares for $1 each if their guesses are correct.

Josh Marcus reports:

Online gamblers raked in thousands on bets against the Titanic sub crew’s survival

OceanGate CEO ‘wanted to be Captain Kirk'

Sunday 25 June 2023 01:00 , Ariana Baio

Stockton Rush, the co-founder of OceanGate, and one of the five submarine passengers who died on the ill-fated Titanic expedition, was seen as a thrill-seeker by those who knew him.

“We were frustrated astronauts,” Guillermo Sohnlein, another co-founder, told The New York Times.

After viewing the 2004 launch of SpaceShipOne, the first private effort to reach space, Rush told Smithsonian magazine that he decided he didn’t want to merely be a passenger on someone else’s expedition, but rather lead his own mission.

“I didn’t want to go up into space as a tourist,” he told the magazine. “I wanted to be Captain Kirk on the Enterprise.”

Timeline of how the deep-sea tragedy unfolded

Sunday 25 June 2023 00:00 , Ariana Baio

What happened to the Titanic submarine? A timeline of events

Watch: Barack Obama slams hypocrisy over interest in Titanic sub compared to migrant boat tragedy

Saturday 24 June 2023 23:30 , Ariana Baio

Voices: The Titanic submersible disaster was an accident waiting to happen

Saturday 24 June 2023 23:00 , Ariana Baio

“Whether the Titan is missing because of deficiencies in design and construction or because of mistakes made by its operator – Rush – may be lost to history if the submersible is never found. The lesson of the Titanic, however, is that it can be both. Had Captain Edward Smith reduced the ship’s speed, perhaps it could have navigated the icy waters better. Had the ship been equipped with enough lifeboats for passengers, or had fewer of the watertight compartments been breached, perhaps more lives could have been saved.”

Skylar Baker-Jordan writes:

The Titanic sub disaster was an accident waiting to happen | Opinion

Daughter of French pilot on Titanic sub says if he died he would be ‘where he loved’

Saturday 24 June 2023 22:30 , Ariana Baio

Sidonie Nargeolet, the daughter of Paul-Henri Nargeolet said she continued to hope they would be rescued but that she is comforted by the knowledge that her father is in the place he loved most.

“At times, I have a lot of hope, I am fine, I believe and have a lot of hope. But in others, hope goes away and it is hard to endure, and as more time goes by it gets harder,” she said.

Ms Nargeloet said she learnt about the accident on Monday, when she received a text message from her father’s spouse saying he should have been back at 6 pm on Sunday.

“I cried a lot,” she said. She had last seen her father just before Christmas last year in Andorra.

“He sent me a message a week before (getting in the submersible) telling me the weather was bad, so they hadn’t been able to go down, but that there was a great atmosphere,” she said. “I sent him a message on Sunday for Father’s Day but he didn’t reply.”

“I would prefer him (dying) at a place where he is very happy,” Ms Nargeolet said.

Authorities speaking with family of deceased on Polar Prince

Saturday 24 June 2023 22:00 , Ariana Baio

Authorities within the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said they have already begun speaking with people on board the Polar Prince, the vessel that helped launch the Titan submersible, including family members of those who died in the sub.

“I think anybody can imagine that it’s difficult, the circumstances they have been under for the last few days,” Kathy Fox, chair of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, said.

“And we have to understand that, that’s going to affect particularly the families who have lost loved ones.”

Canadian Transportation Safety Board launches investigation

Saturday 24 June 2023 21:00 , Ariana Baio

In addition to assisting the RCMP with their preliminary probe into the Titan submersible deaths, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said they would be launching their own investigation.

Kathy Fox, chair of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, told reports on Saturday (24 June) that they had begun gathering data from the Polar Prince, the surface ship to the Titan.

Ms Fox said the investigation would possibly take 18 months to two years.

“We obviously try to do them quicker, because we know that everybody wants answers – particularly the family,” Ms Fox said. “We need to take the time with respect to how far we will go.”

Ms Fox said they were conducting the inquiry to prevent accidents like this from happening again.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police will look into Titan deaths

Saturday 24 June 2023 20:38 , Ariana Baio

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) of Newfoundland and Labrador said a team of investigators will determine whether a criminal investigation is warranted.

Superintendent Kent Osmond said, “Such an investigation will proceed only if our examination of the circumstances indicate criminal, federal or provincial laws may possibly have been broken” in a press conference on Saturday (24 June).

Mr Osmond said investigators had already begun to look into the possibility of launching a formal investigation.

“Once a determination has been made as to whether or not a full investigation will be launched, we will provide an update at that time,” Mr Osmond said.

Safety investigators board Titan’s support ship after fatal implosion

Saturday 24 June 2023 20:30 , Ariana Baio

A team of investigators has boarded the main support ship of the Titan submersible after it returned to the harbour following the deep-sea vessel’s fatal implosion.

Flags on board the Polar Prince were at half-mast as it arrived at the port in St John’s in Newfoundland on Saturday, after four passengers and the pilot of Titan were killed in the incident near the wreckage of the Titanic.

Police and safety investigators could be seen on board the vessel after the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada announced it would be the subject of an investigation.

Discovery Channel host refused trip on Titanic submarine due to ‘safety concerns’ after test dive

Saturday 24 June 2023 20:00 , Ariana Baio

A veteran explorer and host of Expedition Unknown on Discovery Plus said he decided to pass on a chance to film on OceanGate’s Titan submersible over safety concerns.

Josh Gates tweeted on Wednesday that he had decided to walk away from an opportunity to film Titanic because the submersible “did not perform well” during a test dive.

A spokesperson for the mothership which launched the missing submersible defended OceanGate, saying it runs an “extremely safe operation” after questions were raised about safety. The submersible Titan is run by OceanGate.

Navy doctor reveals Titanic sub victims would have died instantly in ‘catastrophic implosion’

Saturday 24 June 2023 19:30 , Ariana Baio

A former Navy doctor has revealed what would have happened to the five people on board the missing Titan submersible in its final moments even as officials announced the vessel imploded.

Dale Molé, a former director of the US Navy for undersea medicine and radiation health, said they would have died instantly and painlessly by the force under the depth of the sea.

“It would have been so sudden, that they wouldn’t even have known that there was a problem, or what happened to them,” he told the Daily Mail.

“It’s like being here one minute, and then the switch is turned off. You’re alive one millisecond, and the next millisecond you’re dead,” he said.

Watch: Ships return to harbour as Titan submersible recovery operations begin to wind down

Saturday 24 June 2023 19:00 , Ariana Baio

Coast Guard admits ‘explosion’ heard when Titanic sub lost contact

Saturday 24 June 2023 18:30 , Ariana Baio

The US Coast Guard has admitted an “explosion” was heard in the vicinity of where the Titan submersible was when it lost contact with its support vessel.

The US Navy detected an “anomaly consistent with an implosion or explosion” after the tourist submarine lost contact one hour and 45 minutes into the descent to the Titanic wreckage on Sunday, the Coast Guard confirmed to The Independent.

The sound was “consistent” with the catastrophic implosion, which killed five men on board the Titan sub, including OceanGate Expeditions’ chief executive Stockton Rush.

No more similar sounds were heard throughout the four-day search and rescue mission, a Coast Guard spokesperson said.

Tara Cobham reports:

Coast Guard admits ‘explosion’ heard when Titanic sub lost contact

Sons of Hamish Harding pay tribute to their father

Saturday 24 June 2023 18:00 , Ariana Baio

The sons of British billionaire and explorer Hamish Harding have released statements about the death of their father, attributing their success in life to him.

“My dad was tenacious, hard-working businessman but most important he was the best father I could have ever asked for,” one of the statements, provided to The Independent by Action Aviation, said.

“He inspired me more than anyone will ever know, taught me things I’ll never forget, and he meant everything to me. Anyone who ever met my dad will praise his humourous personality, his sheer work ethic, and his constant generosity. My life will be a success if I’m even half the man he is,” the statement continued.

Mr Harding has two sons: Rory and Giles.

In the other statement, Mr Harding’s other son wrote: “My father was an avid adventurer, a loving father, family man and a determined and tireless businessman. In all these areas, he constantly sought to be the best man he could be and did nothing half-way. Constantly full of wisdom and life advice to bestow, he made my brother and I into the people we are today.”

Action Aviation did not clarify which statement came from which son.

President of Titanic society questions if trips to wreckage should end

Saturday 24 June 2023 17:30 , Ariana Baio

In a statement published on Facebook, Charles Haas, president of the Titanic International Society, an organisation set up in 1989 to preserve the history of the Titanic, questioned whether visits to the historic site 3,800m below the surface should continue.

He said: “It is time to consider seriously whether human trips to Titanic’s wreck should end in the name of safety, with relatively little remaining to be learned from or about the wreck.

“Crewed submersibles’ roles in surveying the wreck now can be assigned to autonomous underwater vehicles, like those that mapped the ship and its debris field in high-resolution, 3-D detail last summer.

“The world joins us in expressing our profound sadness and heartbreak about this tragic, avoidable event.”

A British billionaire, father and son and renowned diver: Who was on the Titanic submarine?

Saturday 24 June 2023 17:00 , Ariana Baio

The pilot and four passengers of the Titan submersible that vanished during a mission to explore the Titanic wreckage are believed to be dead, authorities say.

British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, UK citizens Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood, French national Paul-Henri Nargeolet and OceanGate Expeditions chief executive Stockton Rush had “sadly been lost”, the company announced.

The Independent reports:

Who was on the missing Titanic submarine?