The death of the “Titan”: an ex-employee of the company testified about the preparation of the expedition to the “Titanic”

An investigation into the explosion on board the Titanic, which was on its way to the wreckage of the Titanic, found that the submarine's hull had not passed the required inspection and the crew was in a hurry to dive.

Data regarding work on the mission became known during a series of hearings conducted by the US Coast Guard as part of the investigation into the tragedy, The Guardian reports.

Thanks to the visual reproduction of the trip, it was revealed that during the journey the crew members communicated with the staff on the support ship “Polar Prince” using text messages.

“Everything is fine here,” – said one of the last texts sent aboard the Titan.

Shortly after that, on June 18, 2023, the submarine exploded.

Coast Guard officials believe that affecting the serviceability of the submarine could long-term storage – for seven months.

The craft's hull also failed to undergo a standard third-party inspection before launch, they said.

Tony Nissen, the former CTO of OceanGate, which owns the Titan boat, testified that the team rushed the mission into private underwater research. .

When asked if employees felt under pressure, he said: “100%”.

Officials conducting the investigation also asked Nissen whether he believed pressure from company co-founder Stockton Rush compromised the safety of the vessel. answer because we could do endless testing thanks to unlimited time and budget”, – he said after a long pause.

In addition, the former technical director said that in 2018, during a test run, the Titan was struck by lightning. In his opinion, this could damage the hull of the submarine.

Tony Nissen was fired from OceanGate in 2019. According to him, this was preceded by his ban on launching the ship on a trip to the Titanic wreckage. At the time, he told Stockton Rush that the Titan was “not working the way we thought it would.” pre-dive settings. He also reported that he did not trust the operational personnel of the company and refused to pilot the submarine even at the request of Stockton Rush.

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Tony Nissen claims that working for Rush was “difficult” because the company's co-founder often worried about the costs of the work schedules. In addition, Stockton Rush's wishes changed every day, Nissen said.

Currently, the US Coast Guard is conducting the highest level of marine accident investigation to determine the cause of the tragedy aboard the Titan.

It is expected that after the completion of the hearings, the employees of the service will submit their conclusions for confirmation to the head of the department. The National Transportation Safety Board is also conducting a parallel investigation into the destruction of the Titan.

“There are no words to ease the loss of the families affected by this tragic incident. But we hope this hearing will help shed shed light on the cause of the tragedy and prevent its recurrence”, – said Jason Neubauer of the Coast Guard Investigations Division, who chaired the hearing.

Recall that the submarine “Titan” disappeared during an expedition to the wreck of the Titanic on June 18, 2023.

There were five tourists on board – billionaire businessman and researcher Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, French researcher Paul-Henri Narjolet, executive director of OceanGate Stockton Rush.

Later, the US Coast Guard found the wreckage of the submarine on the seabed. This proved that the Titan had exploded during the dive, killing its crew.

It turned out that OceanGate's carbon-fibre-built submarine, the Titan, was only certified to dive to 1.3 thousands of meters – this is much less than the depth where the wreckage of the Titanic lies.

On July 7, the company OceanGate, which organized tours to the sunken Titanic, ceased its activities.

In August 2024, seven&rsquo The family of Frenchman Paul-Henri Narjolet, who died on a private trip, has filed a $50 million lawsuit against OceanGate. The family accuses the owners of the submarine of gross negligence, which led to the death of the crew.