Operator Of Titanic Submersible That Imploded Suspends All Operations: Report

OceanGate's submersible vessel Titan imploded, killing all five people on board.

OceanGate owned the Titan submersible that imploded as it made its descent on June 18

Source : Getty

OcenGate, the operator the submersible that imploded on its way to explore the wreck of the Titanic, said on Thursday that it was suspending all exploration and commercial operations, AP reported. The organisation posted on its website that it would no longer be sending individuals down to the wreckage of the Titanic.

On June 18, the Titan submersible made its descent in the North Atlantic. However, 1 hour and 45 minutes into its descent, it lost contact with the Polar Prince, the support ship that transported the craft to the location in the North Atlantic.

After five days of frantic search operations, the US Coast Guard detected five major pieces of the Titan submersible around the Titanic site. 

Explained | How It Was Like To Be Inside The Titan, Titanic Tourist Submersible That Charged Over Rs 2 Crore Per Ticket

The implosion killed all five people on board, including Stockton Rush, the submersible's pilot and the chief executive officer of the company. The other four were British adventurer Hamish Harding, French veteran Titanic explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, and his 19-year-old son Suleman.

The Coast Guard is investigating the implosion.

OceanGate Expeditions is a Washington-based private company known for deep-sea tourism explorations. It made its first trips to the site of the Titanic wreckage in 2021 and 2022.

The company has previously faced criticism from experts about Titan's safety. In 2022, the submersible encountered a battery issue on its initial dive and required a manual attachment to its lifting platform.

Way back in 2018, a former employee of OceanGate, David Lochridge, warned of potential safety problems with the vessel. Lochridge had filed a whistle-blower complaint on safety issues, following which he was fired.

According to court filings, he claimed the glass viewport of the submersible was only built to a certified pressure of 1,300 meters, although OceanGate intended to take passengers down to depths of 4,000 meters, a report in BBC said.

Moreover, the Titan was never certified or classed by marine organisations.