The investigation of the Titan, submarine update

 

The Titan submersible was a 5-person vessel designed to take people to depths of 4,000 meters for various purposes, such as exploring the Titanic wreck. It was built with modern materials and technology, such as carbon fibre and real-time hull health monitoring.

However, on Sunday, 29 June 2023, the Titan sub suffered a catastrophic implosion while descending to the Titanic site, killing all five passengers on board. The US Navy detected sounds consistent with an implosion shortly after the sub lost contact, but this information was only made public on Thursday.

The cause of the implosion is still unknown, but it is believed that the immense water pressure at depth caused the hull to collapse inward at a very high speed, incinerating the human bodies instantly. Some experts suspect that the carbon fibre mid-section of the sub may have been flawed or unstable under such pressure.

A huge search mission was launched to locate the debris field of the sub, which was found on Thursday, approximately 1,600ft from the bow of the Titanic wreck. Presumed human remains were also recovered from within the wreckage.

The victims of the accident were Stockton Rush, the founder and CEO of OceanGate; Bob Shuman, a former US Navy officer and OceanGate's chief pilot; Doug Gorder, a former US Navy SEAL and OceanGate's director of operations; Scott Griffith, a documentary filmmaker; and Dr. Zafar Ali, a marine biologist from Pakistan. They were described as \"true explorers\" by OceanGate in a statement.

The precise cause of the implosion has yet to be definitively determined, but ongoing investigations are exploring several potential explanations. Expert analysis suggests that the implosion may have resulted from the presence of a crack, defect, or structural failure within the hull materials or design, rendering them incapable of withstanding the immense pressures encountered in the deep sea. Questions have been raised regarding the suitability of titanium and carbon fiber for deep diving applications, as these materials possess distinct properties that could have contributed to vulnerabilities in the hull's integrity.

The investigation into the accident is being led by the United States Navy and the United States Coast Guard, in collaboration with OceanGate and other relevant agencies. This joint effort involves a comprehensive analysis of the debris recovered from the ocean floor, as well as the sounds signals detected by the Navy in the immediate aftermath of the submersible's loss of contact. The objective is to ascertain the precise sequence of events that led to the incident and to implement preventive measures to avert similar tragedies in the future.

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Oceangate

BBC /NewYorkTimes/ The guardian