Titan submersible mishap: All you need to know about Titanic explorer that faced 'catastrophic implosion'

After days of search and rescue missions for the missing Titan submersible, it comes to a tragic end, with all five passengers on board declared dead.Contact with the Titan submersible was lost 1 hour 45 minutes into its dive on Sunday afternoon, as per the US Coast Guard.

The submersible that went missing was owned by OceanGate Expeditions, which is a privately held company that provides crewed submersible assets and expertise for commercial, research and military expeditions.

What is Titan submersible and what can it do?

The Titan, owned by OceanGate is a research and survey submersible that can carry up to five people, usually a pilot and four ‘mission specialists’ – archaeologists, marine biologists or anyone who can afford the experience as a tourist.

According to the official website of OceanGate, Titan is made of “titanium and filament wound carbon fibre”. It can go up to depths of 4000 metres (13,123 feet) for site survey and inspection, research and data collection, film and media production, and deep sea testing of hardware and software.

The Titan submersible is 6.7 metres long and weighs 10,432 kg, which is equivalent to about six average-size cars, as per operator OceanGate. It uses four electric thrusters to move around and has a battery of cameras, lights and scanners to explore its environment. OceanGate says Titan’s viewport is “the largest of any deep diving submersible” and that its technology provides an “unrivalled view” of the deep ocean.

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OceanGate tweeted last week: “Without any cell towers in the middle of the ocean, we are relying on @Starlink to provide the communications we require throughout this year’s 2023 Titanic expedition.”

Apart from these features, it also has a 96-hour bottled oxygen supply. However, that limit would be affected by the breathing rate of those inside the craft, especially if there are tourists with limited diving experience.

What is the Titanic Expedition of OceanGate?

OceanGate’s Titanic expedition is a crewed mission to the historic Titanic site where the massive scale wreck and debris of Titanic can be found. The annual expedition aims to collect images, videos, laser, and sonar data of the wreck that will allow objective assessment of the rate of decay and documentation of the process.

Location of expedition: Approximately 380 nautical miles south of Newfoundland

Maximum depth of expedition: 3,800 metres (12,800 feet)

The wreckage of the Titanic, which lies about 3,800 metres (12,500ft) down on the ocean floor is surrounded by debris from the disaster more than a century ago.

What is the difference between a submersible and a submarine?

Titan that went missing on Sunday was a submersible, not a submarine. As per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a submarine can launch itself into the ocean from a port independently, while a submersible does not have the power to get to the port, the bottom of the sea, and back.

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Instead, submersibles are launched from support ships, which take the submersible to the site where the vessel will deep dive, similarto how a boat deposits a scuba diver into an area of the ocean to explore.

When and where did the Titan go missing?

The Titan began its journey on Sunday morning and its support vessel, the Polar Prince lost contact with it about an hour and 45 minutes later.

The Titan was launched from the Polar Prince, an icebreaker hired by OceanGate that ferries people and the submersible craft to the North Atlantic wreck site where multiple dives have been conducted.

What happened to the Titanic submersible?

The five people on board the missing submersible were presumed dead on Thursday. As per a report in the BBC, Rear Adm Mauger of the Coast Guard confirmed that all five people aboard Titan were killed following what was probably a "catastrophic implosion", based on patterns of debris discovered.

(With inputs from agencies)

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