Photo Shows What Was Left ofTitanSub After Implosion as OceanGate Attorney Says 'There Are No Words'

Mar. 15, 2025

The photographic evidence, from a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), led to “conclusive evidence of a catastrophic loss” of theTitanand the death of its five passengers, officials said in their presentation.

According to the presentation, the ROV, called the Pelagic Research Services 6000, discovered the aft tail cone and other debris after extensive searching on June 22, 2023, four days after the submersible set off on itsvoyage to theTitanicand then lost contact with the surface.

TITAN Wreckage.Pelagic Research Services

Pelagic Research Services

On board theTitanwere noted explorerPaul-Henri Nargeolet, adventurer Hamish Harding, father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood and Stockton Rush, who co-founded OceanGate, the company operating the submersible.

In addition to the visual evidence of the catastrophe, an animated video shown at the hearing on Monday detailed what is known about theTitan’s final dive, including how it went into the water from thePolar Prince,its support ship, off the coast of Canada around 9:20 a.m. local time on June 18, 2023.

JOEL SAGET,HANDOUT/Dirty Dozen Productions/OceanGat/AFP via Getty Images

The final messages from the doomed vehicle were also revealed.

After more than 40 minutes of communication, thePolar Princeinformed the submersible, “I need better comms from you,” to which theTitanresponded “yes” and said they temporarily “lost system oand [sic] chat settings.”

Nargeoletis believed to have sent the messages, according to the Coast Guard.

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ThePolar Princeagain asked, “Status? do you see polar prince on your display?” And soon after, the Titan responded “yes” and “all good here” at 10:15 a.m.

Then at 10:47 a.m., the Titan sent another message that it had “dropped two wts,” referring to its weights, but lost contact with the surface seconds after.

Jason Neubauer of the Coast Guard Office of Investigations and Analysis, said at Monday’s hearing that they hope to “help shed light on the cause of the tragedy and prevent anything like this from happening again.”

Attorney Jane Shvets, representing OceanGate — which has ceased operations — read a brief opening statement as well in which she echoed that.

She said the company “offer[s] our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones, among them those here today, of those who died on June 18, 2023.”

source: people.com