2023-07-01 16:46:09
Titanic under-debris and human remains have been recovered, here are 9 questions we still don’t have the answer to.
• Read also: Submarine implosion: still to visit the wreck of the Titanic
• Read also: ‘Alleged human remains’ found among Titan’s wreckage
• Read also: IN PICTURES | Debris from the Titan brought to the surface
The search for the Titan submersible, which lasted five days, ended on June 22 when debris was discovered near the wreck of the Titanic.
OceanGate CEO and Founder Stockton Rush, British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, famed French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman embarked on the trip of a lifetime on June 18, traveling approximately 13,000 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean to visit the wreckage of the famous ship.
However, the five explorers met a fate similar to that of the Titanic.
On June 28, officials said debris and suspected human remains had been recovered from the seabed where the deadly implosion took place.
Even if we know the fate of the submersible, some questions still remain unanswered.
What caused the submarine to implode?
Rear Admiral Mauger told reporters that the discovery of debris revealed that the submarine and its occupants had died from a “catastrophic implosion”.
“In consultation with command experts, the debris is consistent with the loss of the pressure chamber,” he told The Independent newspaper in an interview.
An underwater implosion means that the ship, under intense pressure from the depths of the ocean, has suddenly and violently closed in on itself.
The Independent report that it’s unclear exactly where the implosion happened, but the journey to the wreckage was expected to take regarding two hours and the ship lost contact regarding an hour and 45 minutes later.
The cause of the implosion remains unclear at this time, but several safety issues with the Titan submersible had been raised, detailing any potential issues with the submarine.
Is the cheap design to blame?
Besides the choice of materials, questions have also been asked regarding the prefabricated elements used to assemble the submarine, The Independent reports.
In a November interview, OceanGate CEO Rush bragged that the sub operated with a video game remote and its components were purchased from Camping World.
Recall that the company’s former director of marine operations, David Lochridge, accused OceanGate of ignoring its security concerns regarding the Titan.
Mr Lochridge had started working with OceanGate in 2015 and would have been tasked with conducting a final security review of the Titan.
In his lawsuit, Mr Lochridge had raised ‘critical safety issues’ over the ‘experimental and untested design’ of the submarine. The man was then fired.
Why were the pieces of debris so big?
Deep-sea robots brought debris from the Titan to the surface, reports The Independent.
Although the images of the parts recovered from the ocean floor caused many to react, Northeastern University physics professor Arun Bansil said the wreckage was consistent with the events.
“Titan’s initial failure would have occurred at its weakest links, such as flaws in the hull,” he explained in an interview with The Independent. “Once a crack opens, however, large chunks of the hull will no longer experience very violent forces and will remain more or less intact.”
How did authorities recover ‘suspected human remains’?
The US Coast Guard had previously said that due to the depth of the debris and the nature of the passenger deaths, it was unlikely that human remains would be recovered, The Independent said.
However, on June 28, authorities announced that they had recovered “suspected human remains” from the seabed. Medical professionals will now carry out a formal analysis to confirm that they are indeed human remains.
Why is OceanGate still announcing visits?
More than 10 days following the tragedy and a week following it was confirmed, the OceanGate website is still listing available dates for two eight-day Titanic-watching expeditions next year.
The company’s future is uncertain, The Independent reports, as industry experts told the New York Post that all planned Titanic expeditions have been cancelled.
If the submarine wasn’t safe, why might it take tourists on expeditions?
Because the Polar Prince and Titan operated in international waters, they were not subject to any country’s regulations, including a US law requiring passenger submersibles to be registered with the Coast Guard.
What were the knocking noises?
On June 20, buoys picked up knocking sounds coming from the search area, suggesting that survivors might still be found.
“We don’t know the source of this noise, but we have shared this information with Navy experts,” US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger told The Independent at the time.
The sound had been detected at 2 a.m. local time by a Canadian P-3 aircraft.
Officials admitted the rumors were ‘inconclusive’. Some experts have suggested that the knocking noise was the sound of debris from the Titanic or Titan in the ocean.
The Coast Guard admitted on June 23 that the US Navy detected sounds consistent with an implosion or explosion sometime following the Titan went missing on June 18 and before rescue efforts began the next day. Officials said the information was not made public at the time because it was not final.
Why was so much money and effort invested in research if the United States knew it had already imploded?
One of the biggest questions that remains is why US officials did not disclose the fact that US Navy equipment picked up the sound of the implosion and why so much money and effort was invested. in the search and rescue operation if they knew it was futile.
Although the Navy passed the information on to the US Coast Guard who were conducting the search, the information was not made public during the operation, reports The Independent.
The U.S. Coast Guard said it, the United Command, the U.S. Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard made its decision not to release information regarding the acoustic anomaly, because they did not want to disrupt the mission. search and rescue.
Will OceanGate face legal action?
Before embarking on the underwater adventure, the five passengers had signed liability waivers accepting that it might lead to death.
The waiver may not protect OceanGate from possible lawsuits by the families of the victims.
“If it can be established that the implosion was caused by faults in the mechanics or engineering of the submarine, the responsible party can be held liable, even if a waiver has been signed,” Timothy explained. E Allen, lawyer and former Secret Service agent, at The Independent newspaper.
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