by OceanGate said it will suspend all commercial and exploration operations weeks after its submersible imploded near the Titanic wreckage site, killing all five people on board.
The company made the announcement on Thursday, posting a short message at the top of its website. “OceanGate has suspended all commercial and exploration operations,” he said.
About two weeks ago, human remains were recovered from the wreckage of the Titan, a submersible operated by OceanGate Expeditions that was carrying company CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French diver Paul Henry Nargeolet, prominent Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and her son. , Suleman, on a voyage to explore the wreckage of the luxury liner that sank 111 years ago.
It was the third voyage of the OceanGate submersible to the wreck and cost $250,000 per voyager.
Remains of the Titan were found on the ocean floor near the bow of the Titanic. A remotely operated vehicle was sent approximately 12,500 feet underwater to recover the wreckage of the submarine.
What appeared to be pieces of the Titan were transported to the Horizon Arctic, a Canadian ship. It is not clear which parts were recovered; a particularly large piece could be seen with several large cables attached to it.
The dive began from the Polar Prince, a Canadian research vessel, on June 18, but an hour and 45 minutes into it the Polar Prince lost contact with the Titan, sparking a frantic four-day search that caught the world’s attention. . Multiple countries sent resources to help find the submarine.
Initially, there were concerns that the Titan would run out of air before rescuers could reach it, but authorities believe the sub suffered a “catastrophic implosion” that killed the crew instantly. The cause remains under investigation.
Dawood’s parents issued a statement after the remains were found, asking people to “keep the departed souls and our family in your prayers.” Suleman’s aunt, Azmeh Dawood, recalled how he had been “terrified” to get on the submersible. She did so because the trip fell on Father’s Day weekend and she wanted to please his father, whom Azmeh Dawood said he was “absolutely obsessed” with the Titanic from a very young age.
She said their deaths were an “unreal situation.”
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada launched a safety investigation into the incident. Several past passengers have shared lurid accounts of safety and layout problems and communication failures. A former employee claimed that he was fired after he expressed concern about him.
One of those passengers, Brian Weed, a videographer for Discovery Channel’s “Expedition Unknown,” recalled how “things started to go wrong” around the time he began a test dive on Titan in May 2021. He said “there was propulsion system failure. , leaving the passengers as “ducks sitting in the water”.
Weed also expressed concern about the fact that the door of the submarine was bolted from the outside. He ultimately declined an invitation to dive again a week later.
Josh Gates, the host of “Expedition Unknown,” said Tom Costello of NBC News that he thought the submarine needed more testing.
Colin Taylor, who traveled in the submersible when it explored the Titanic site last July, described the communication system as “very difficult”.
However, Aaron Newman, a former Titan passenger on the defunct Titan and an investor in OceanGate, said he felt “safe” during his voyage but said there are risks in undertaking such expeditions.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said its investigation will focus on finding “all causal and contributing factors” in the incident “without attributing fault or civil or criminal liability.” The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate what happened and issue safety recommendations to prevent a similar tragedy from occurring in the future.
Doha Madani, Daniel Arquin, Marlene Lenthang and melissa-chan contributed.
