Titan Suffered Catastrophic Event: Consistent With Water Column Implosion, Says Coast Guard

CBS Sunday Morning was invited to ride OceanGate's Titan submersible vehicle down to the Titanic last year.

By The Stream Published on June 21, 2023

The search for Titan is over.

The debris field that a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) spotted earlier today was consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the Titan, said Rear Admiral John Mauger, First Coast Guard District, in a press conference at 3:00 p.m. EST. All five souls on board were lost. 

The debris field was just 1,600 feet off of the Titanic’s bow. Mauger added that it is too early to tell whether the submersible imploded shortly after it embarked on its journey to the Titanic’s wreckage or made its way to the depths before the catastrophic event. 

Mauger assured the press that they will continue to search for the bodies of those lost. 

This is a developing story and will be updated. 

The U.S. Coast Guard tweeted Thursday morning that a “debris field” was found in the area crews are searching, which may be the debris of the missing submersible Titan. It was discovered near the Titanic by a remotely operated vehicle, or a ROV, reported by WCVB5. 

The Coast Guard added that “Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information.”

A press conference is scheduled Thursday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. EST. 

This is a developing story and will be updated. 

A frantic search continues for a missing submersible near the wreckage of the Titanic after “underwater sounds” were heard by Canadian aircraft, ABC News reported. The deep-sea submersible, which launched Sunday, is carrying five people in an underwater tour of the Titanic wreckage off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

According to ABC News, a source familiar with the situation confirmed that there were reports of “banging” in the search area picked up by sonar.

The underwater vessel, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, lost contact an hour and 45 minutes after submersion. They had 96 hours of oxygen in the vessel. As of Tuesday afternoon, the submersible, called Titan, had 40 hours of oxygen, NBC reported. The U.S. Coast Guard announced Tuesday on Twitter that a Canadian aircraft heard “underwater noises in the search area.”

“Canadian P-3 aircraft detected underwater noises in the search area. As a result, ROV operations were relocated in an attempt to explore the origin of the noises. Those ROV searches have yielded negative results but continue. Additionally, the data from the P-3 aircraft has been shared with our U.S. Navy experts for further analysis which will be considered in future search plans. #Titanic.”

The United States Coast Guard, Canadian Coast Guard and the Canadian Armed Forces are coordinating efforts to find the 21-foot submersible before time and oxygen run out for those aboard.

A friend of Hamish Harding, former NASA astronaut Col. Terry Virts, said Harding did not talk about risks of his adventures. Virts, on Good Morning Britain, shared the last text he received from Harding: “Hey, we’re headed out tomorrow, it looks good, the weather’s been bad so they’ve been waiting for this.”

The price of a seat on the vessel was $250,000, according to NBC News. It was on its third trip since OceanGate Expeditions began Titanic tours in 2021.

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