OceanGate hubris
On Sunday a submersible started a 11-hour journey to tour the shipwreck of the Titanic. After 1 hour and 45 minutes, Oceangate lost contact with the Titan. Thus beginning an international search and rescue operation to find out what happened. Specialist assets took days before reaching the site. Oceangate launch and recovery ship needed help. The launch site is a remote area but Oceangate at least had the last known location. Remotely operated vehicles (ROV) began the search supported by aircraft, looking for clues. I can’t find anything about Oceangate having its own ROV which is standard practice. Lost communication hinted at failure, a small deep-sea community privately had theories of what happened. Many had doubts about the company trying to do things on the cheap.
One week later US Navy sources confirmed an unknown noise around the same time was detected. US coast guard and search teams took a while before confirming the Titan was lost and destroyed. Recovery teams kept information until ready to confirm. Given the remote nature of the site far easier to keep rumours at bay.
The US coast guard confirmed a debris field had been found on Thursday. Therefore identified as part of the Titan, a catastrophic implosion destroyed and killed everybody onboard. 5 pieces of the Titan helped show what happened. A single burst of noise followed by silence helped confirm this. Debris was found 500 metres away from the Titanic, but never hit the ocean floor or the shipwreck.
Titan was a unique design 5 man submersible, that used different materials and designs. Deep diving submersibles normally remote, 1 man or a maximum of 3 crew. The footprint here was similar to remote or single-crew designs. Various engineers have started to point out, the margin of safety was low and lacking redundancies in case of failure. Concerns about safety and practices date back years with lawsuits filed by past employees. Operating in international waters means no rules but many companies do. Oceangate on the other hand decided rules are for losers. Never followed the tough safety certification, which requires retesting after so many hours and years. Oceangate on the other hand skipped that claimed its internal tests were enough. Presenting itself as being fully 100% safe.
Everything about this seems to be avoidable. The sea has becomes the final resting place for 5 more men. Rules and regulations exist for a reason this yet another reminder about why.