Titan crew said “everything is fine here” before the submersible imploded

One of the last messages from the five-man crew of the submersible Titan before it imploded and everyone on board died, a hearing revealed, was “everything is fine here.”

U.S. Coast Guard investigators said the message was one of the last between the Titan and its mother ship before contact was permanently lost.

The hearing also featured the first showing of an image taken by a remote-controlled vehicle of Titan's tail cone lying on the seabed after the implosion.

The ocean-going vessel had been on its way to the wreck of the Titanic for less than two hours when it imploded in June 2023.

Coast Guard officials launched a two-week investigation Monday to determine the facts of the incident and make recommendations to prevent similar tragedies.

Investigators presented a re-creation of the journey, including text messages between Titan and its mother ship, the Polar Prince.

Titan began its dive at 9:17 a.m. local time and support personnel on board the mother ship inquired about the depth and weight of the submersible and whether the vessel was still visible on the onboard display.

Communication was patchy, but about an hour into the dive, Titan reported, “All is well here.”

The last message was sent at 10:47 a.m. local time from a depth of 3,346 meters and contained the report that two weights had been dropped. After that, communication was lost.

Officials presented a historical overview of the Titan, pointing out that its hull had never been tested by a third party and had been exposed to the weather and other elements while in storage.

They also described the serious problems the submersible had during expeditions before the disaster. During 13 dives to the Titanic in 2021 and 2022, 118 equipment problems occurred.

These included the front dome falling off as the ship was being raised from the sea, the engines failing at a depth of 3,500 m, and a dive that drained the batteries and left passengers trapped inside for 27 hours.

OceanGate, the boat's manufacturer, has previously faced questions about its design choices, safety record and regulatory compliance.

Tony Nissen, the company's former chief technical officer, said the evidence he had seen was “professionally and personally disturbing.”

Mr Nissen claimed that Stockton Rush, the late CEO of OceanGate who was on board Titan, had the final say on most technical decisions and was difficult to work with.

“Stockton would fight for what he wanted, and even if his goals changed from day to day, he would not give an inch,” he said.

“Most people would eventually retreat to Stockton, it was death by a thousand cuts.”

Following the incident, OceanGate suspended all exploration and commercial activities.

The company does not currently employ any full-time staff, but will be represented by a lawyer in the investigation, it said.

The first public phase of an investigation that has already lasted 15 months began on Monday.

Unanswered questions about the Titan's ill-fated dive have sparked an ongoing debate about the safety and regulation of private underwater exploration.

The Coast Guard's Marine Board of Investigations (MBI) is expected to hear testimony from up to ten former OceanGate employees, including co-founder Guillermo Sohnlein and maritime security and underwater exploration experts.

The MBI is the highest level available for investigating maritime accidents in the United States and a hearing is convened about once a year, its chairman said on Sunday.

“Out of thousands of studies conducted, not even one reaches this level,” said Jason Neubauer.

“We hope that this hearing will help shed light on the cause of the tragedy and prevent something similar from happening again.”

The panel, composed of senior officials from the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), has the authority to recommend civil penalties or refer criminal action to the U.S. Department of Justice.

A search mission involving four governments began after the submersible lost contact with its mother ship, the Polar Prince, on the morning of June 18, 2023, and never resurfaced.

Besides Rush, on board were British explorer Hamish Harding, experienced French diver Paul Henri Nargeolet, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman.