'All good': Titan sub crew's final message before deadly implosion revealed during hearing

During a hearing, an animated presentation by the US Coast Guard of the incidents that went down in the Titan submersible revealed that the crew’s last message before the vessel collapsed was simply, “All good.” The sub was on an experimental dive to explore the Titanic wreck, but all five crew members lost their lives in an implosion.

How did the Titan crew communicate before implosion?

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The details came out at the start of a two-week hearing to investigate the causes of the incident. According to the Coast Guard, the crew on the Titan had been communicating with their support team on the Polar Prince via text. The communication was ongoing as the sub descended. Contact was eventually lost, but before that, one of the crew’s final messages assured, “All good here,” though the connection was becoming unstable.

The series of hearings, being held in Charleston County, South Carolina, is focused on uncovering the facts surrounding the implosion and finding ways to prevent future incidents. The Marine Board of Investigation, the highest form of maritime casualty inquiry, is leading the investigation.

Jason Neubauer of the Coast Guard’s Office of Investigations, who is leading the hearing, said, “There are no words to ease the loss endured by the families impacted by this tragic incident, we hope that this hearing will help shed light on the cause of the tragedy and prevent anything like this from happening again.”

Among those on board the Titan was Stockton Rush, co-founder of OceanGate, the company that owned the vessel. Following the disaster, OceanGate ceased its operations.

Who testified during the Titan sub hearing?

Many witnesses are set to testify during the hearing, including OceanGate’s former engineering director Tony Nissen, ex-finance director Bonnie Carl, and former contractor Tym Catterson. Other key figures scheduled to appear later in the hearings include OceanGate’s co-founder Guillermo Sohnlein and its former operations and scientific directors.

Although OceanGate currently has no full-time employees, the company has confirmed that it will be represented by a lawyer during the hearing. The company’s statement said, “There are no words to ease the loss endured by the families impacted by this devastating incident, but we hope that this hearing will help shed light on the cause of the tragedy."

The Titan implosion claimed the lives of Rush, veteran Titanic explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, prominent Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman, and British adventurer Hamish Harding.

The sub’s descent took place on June 18, 2023. Around two hours into the dive, contact with its support ship was lost. When the Titan was overdue, rescue teams covered an area approximately 435 miles off Newfoundland’s coast during their searches. The search gained global attention, though hopes for survival faded as it became clear that the implosion was catastrophic.

(With inputs from agencies)