Almost a month after the implosion in North Atlantic waters, terrifying data from the Titan submarine continues to emerge. According to a confidential report, it has now emerged that the airship only succeeded in 13 of the 90 dives she made to view the wreckage of the Titanic.
This indicates that only 14% of the trips scheduled and paid for in thousands of dollars could be completed as planned, according to Insider.
On rare occasions, the submarine reached 3,800 meters deep to be able to see the remains of the Titanic.
The worrying and unusually low success rate was explained in the four pages of the release document that passengers had to sign when boarding the Titan.
The text described the tour boat as “experimental” on three occasions and claimed it had successfully completed “only 13 dives” out of a total of 90 at the famous North Atlantic Ocean site.
The document also reportedly mentioned “death” three times on its first page and warned that passengers could be subjected to “extreme pressure,” “unpredictable” conditions, and high-pressure gas and high-voltage electrical systems.
OceanGate claimed on its website that it had completed more than 14 expeditions and 200 dives in the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf of Mexico using two submarines, with the first successfully reaching the Titanic in 2021, according to Insider.
The form also said that the Titan submarine was “constructed of materials that have not been widely used for manned submersibles.”
Guillermo Söhnlein, co-founder of OceanGate, told BBC News that the submarine underwent a “rigorous test programme”, was developed over 14 years and was “very robust”.
But Brian Weed, a former passenger, told Insider that the sub failed a test dive in 2021 because its thrusters stopped working. He was trapped underwater for more than two hours and never went deeper than 30 meters.
Tests of the submarine at the Deep Ocean Test Facility, run by the US Naval Academy, also revealed that its carbon fiber hull “showed signs of cyclical fatigue” at shallower depths, according to GeekWire. OceanGate then had to scrap planned Titanic dives in 2018, 2019 and 2020, according to the report.
The Titan imploded on June 18, instantly killing Rush, 61, French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, British billionaire Hamish Harding, 58, prominent Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and their 19-year-old son, Suleman Dawood.
The company announced the suspension of all exploration and commercial operations in the wake of the disaster and amid intense criticism of Rush for what some perceive as lax attitudes on safety.
The company that owns the submersible that imploded on a trip to the Titanic ruins announced Thursday that it is suspending all operations.
Among the five victims of the implosion was the pilot of the submersible and CEO of the company, Stockton Rush.
