Titan sub broke days before doomed dive, says science chief
A public inquiry has revealed that a submersible that tragically imploded during a voyage to the Titanic wreck, resulting in the deaths of all five people on board, had experienced malfunctions days before its final dive last year.
Steven Ross, the former scientific director of OceanGate, the company responsible for the Titan sub, recounted that the incident caused passengers to “tumble about” and led the craft to collide with the bulkheading, leaving one passenger “hanging upside down” while others struggled to hold on. He noted he was unaware if the Titan’s hull was inspected for damage following the incident.
The US Coast Guard inquiry is currently reviewing two weeks of evidence related to the submersible’s fatal implosion in June 2023. Ross mentioned that it took the support crew over an hour to retrieve the sub from the water after the malfunction occurred just days before its final journey.
On Thursday, a member of the mission aboard the support vessel recalled seeing the crew and passengers depart for the Titanic wreck last June, stating, “I saw five people smiling on their way to their journey.” Renata Rojas, a volunteer on the expedition, said the atmosphere was positive, with everything operating “very smoothly” prior to the sub’s descent. However, she expressed concern when communication was lost, asking colleagues, “We haven’t heard from them, where are they?”
Ms. Rojas told the inquiry that she was the “platform assistant” on the day of the dive, “mostly standing around until somebody needed help”.
The Titan’s implosion led to questions over the submersible’s safety and design, and the materials used in its construction.
The inquiry earlier this week was told of the last messages sent from the sub as it descended towards the Titanic, with the crew stating “all good here” minutes before the implosion.
Ms Rojas said she was on the bridge of her vessel as communications were lost, and that rescue protocol advised waiting an hour as the passengers might have been spending extra time exploring their destination.
The conversation then turned as the sub failed to resurface. Ms Rojas said she recalled conversations on the bridge about calling the Coast Guard.
“We went into ‘go mode’,” she said.
She said there were several rescue options available if the sub had been stuck on the ocean floor, including initiating a release maneuver or waiting for the tide to change. The Titan had 96 hours of life support onboard, she added.
However, she said there was nothing anyone in the sub could have done if the hull had failed.
Ms Rojas described a 2021 expedition in which she recalled how the dome fell off the submersible as it was being retrieved from the water.
She said when the submersible was being pulled back onto the main ship, the crew lost hold of it.
Ms Rojas said the dome vacuum of the sub broke.
“There was only, I think, two bolts or four bolts on the dome,” she said.
“It started dripping, falling off,” she added.
The incident led to crews installing 18 bolts on the dome for subsequent expeditions.
Ms Rojas, a self-described Titanic obsessive, told the inquiry she had never felt unsafe during her dives.
“I found them to be very transparent about everything,” she said about OceanGate staff briefings.
“I knew the risk and still decided to go.”
The inquiry will continue into next week.
