Officials investigating the ill-fated Titan submersible are analyzing voice recordings and data from its mothership.
The goal is to unravel the mysteries surrounding the incident and ascertain whether any criminal activities played a role in the disaster.
Officials from the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada recently paid a visit to the Polar Prince, the lead ship of the OceanGate Titan sub, in order to extract crucial information from the vessel’s voyage data recorder and other systems that might contain pertinent data.
Kathy Fox, chairperson of the TSB, emphasized that the primary aim of the investigation is not to assign blame but to comprehend the sequence of events, determine the root causes, and implement preventive measures for future incidents. Fox acknowledged the potential significance of voice recordings in this quest for answers.
Simultaneously, authorities are carefully considering whether to initiate a criminal investigation, according to Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superintendent Kent Osmond. Osmond clarified that such an inquiry would only proceed if the circumstances surrounding the incident suggest a potential violation of the law.
The ill-fated journey of the OceanGate Expeditions’ Titan submersible began on June 18, with the ambitious mission of exploring the wreckage of the Titanic in the unfathomable depths of the Atlantic Ocean. The submersible carried a total of five passengers, including two billionaires, a deep-sea explorer, the CEO and founder of the company, and a college student. Enclosed within the submersible vessel with the assistance of 17 externally operated bolts, the passengers were estimated to have approximately 96 hours of oxygen reserves upon submersion. However, contact with the submersible was abruptly lost approximately one and a quarter hours into the expedition, when it was believed to have descended to a depth of nearly 10,000 feet.
Despite initial hopes sparked by reports of recurring underwater noises, which were later determined to be unrelated to the missing crew, the US Coast Guard confirmed that debris discovered about 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic wreckage indicates a catastrophic implosion of the submersible. Sadly, the bodies of the five occupants, identified as Sulaiman Dawood, 19, Shahzada Dawood, 48, Hamish Harding, 58, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, and OceanGate’s CEO, Stockton Rush, 61, are unlikely to be recovered.
In 2018, the Marine Technology Society reportedly sent a letter to Stockton Rush, urging him to ensure thorough third-party testing of their prototypes before venturing into such profound depths, with a view to prioritizing passenger safety. Allegedly, Rush declined to comply with this recommendation.
