Titanic director and diving expert James Cameron said he predicted Titanic’s implosion days before the wreckage of the missing submersible was found, calling the search an “ongoing nightmarish charade”.
Mr Cameron, who has visited the world’s most famous seawreck 30 times, said this week’s tragedy paralleled the Titanic disaster, where the captain repeatedly ignored warnings of an oncoming iceberg but proceeded at top speed.
The Titanic Five were killed instantly when the submersible suffered a “catastrophic implosion” just 1,600 feet off the wrecked ocean liner’s bow, the US Coast Guard said yesterday. A remote-controlled submarine belonging to a Canadian ship found debris on the seabed.
However, search and rescue workers say the men likely died on Sunday – before military planes carrying sonar buoys detected what they thought could be SOS booms in the water. The US Navy said it heard a sound suggesting an implosion when communications were cut about two hours after the dive. The Navy has relayed this information to the Coast Guard, an insider said.
Mr Cameron told BBC News that the coastguard search “felt like a drawn out and nightmarish farce with people running around talking about pops, oxygen and all that other stuff”.
“I knew the submarine was just below its last known depth and position. That’s where they found it,” he said.
According to court documents, a former OceanGate employee previously raised safety concerns about the Titan submersible. David Lochridge, former director of marine operations at OceanGate, claimed a wrongful dismissal after raising concerns about the company’s alleged “refusal to conduct critical, non-destructive testing of the experimental design.”
Mr Cameron said last night: “Some of the top players in the deep diving community even wrote letters to the company saying what they were doing was too experimental to carry passengers and that it should be certified must and so on.”
“I am struck by the resemblance to the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned of ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed into an ice field at full speed on a moonless night and many people died as a result. A very similar one Tragedy that went unheeded – it happened in the exact same spot as all the dives around the world. I just think it’s amazing, it’s actually quite surreal.”
Titanic director and diving expert James Cameron said he predicted Titan’s implosion before the wreckage of the missing submersible was found, calling the search an “ongoing nightmarish farce”.
OceanGate Expeditions has reportedly been warned repeatedly about safety concerns
A satellite image shows ships involved in the search and rescue operations related to the missing Titan submersible near the wreck of the Titanic. Mr Cameron called it a ‘charade’
Mr Cameron said: “I felt in my bones what happened.” I immediately called some of my contacts in the deep submersible community. Within about an hour I had the following facts. They were on the way down. They were at 12,000 feet and heading for the bottom at 12,000 feet.
“If the submarine’s electronics fail, its communications system fails, and its tracking transponder fails at the same time – then the submarine is gone.”
“We now have another misfortune, unfortunately based on the same principles of ignoring warnings.”
The victims are OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, French Navy veteran Paul-Henri (PH) Nargeolet, British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman.
“The implosion would have produced a distinct, broadband noise that the sonar buoys would have picked up,” US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said at a news conference.
James Cameron’s scathing message comes after it was revealed that OceanGate boss Rush had been warned years earlier that his “experimental approach” could lead to disaster – and in another interview he spoke of “breaking the rules” to get there to build a submarine.
It would have been instant death for the men, some of whom had paid $250,000 each to see the famous shipwreck.
It’s a heavy blow to their families, experts say, and there’s little prospect of their remains being recovered.
“It’s an incredibly harsh environment down there.” “The debris indicates a catastrophic implosion of the ship. We’ll keep working and scanning the area down there — but I don’t have an answer on the prospects at this time,” Paul Hankin, a deep-sea expert involved in the study, said.
Five people were on board, including British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding and Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman
French Navy veteran PH Nargeolet (left) is in the submarine with Stockton Rush (right), CEO of OceanGate Expedition
In a heartbreaking tribute, Richard Garriott, president of the Explorers Club, to which both Harding and Nargeolet belonged, said the men were drawn to research “in the name of meaningful science for the good of mankind.”
“Our hearts are broken. “I’m so sorry to share this tragic news,” Garriott announced. He said the club is “grateful to all of our members and the scientific and research community around the world who have mobilized personnel and resources to support search and rescue.”
Garriott described Harding as a “dear friend” to himself and the club. “He holds multiple world records and has continued to push dragons off the map, both personally and through his support of expeditions and charities,” he wrote.
“We are heartbroken for the families, friends and colleagues of the deceased.” “Their memories will be a blessing and continue to inspire us on behalf of science and research,” said Garriott.
In addition to the ship’s landing frame and rear cover, which were the first pieces of debris to be discovered, the ROV submarine also found fragments of the pressure hull – the main body of the submersible.
“The debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the hyperbaric chamber.” Upon making this determination, we immediately notified the families.
“On behalf of the Coast Guard and all of Combined Command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families.”
“I hope this discovery brings some comfort at this difficult time,” Rear Admiral Mauger said.
In its own statement this afternoon, OceanGate said: “We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost.”
“These men were true explorers who shared a strong spirit of adventure and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans.”
“Our hearts go out to these five souls and each member of their families at this tragic time. We mourn the loss of life and the joy they brought to all who knew them.”
The company added, “This is an extremely sad time for our dedicated employees who are exhausted and deeply saddened by this loss.”
“The entire OceanGate family is deeply grateful to the countless men and women from numerous organizations in the international community who have contributed extensive resources and worked so hard on this mission.”
“We appreciate their dedication to finding these five explorers and their tireless work day and night to support our crew and their families.”
“This is a very sad time for the entire explorer community and for all family members of those who died at sea.”
US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger announces the men’s deaths at a news conference in Boston. “The debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the hyperbaric chamber.” Upon making this determination, we immediately notified the families. “On behalf of the Coast Guard and all of Combined Command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families.”
In this U.S. Coast Guard handout, a Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C. Hercules aircraft HC-130 overflies the French research vessel L’Atalante about 900 miles east of Cape during the search for the 21-foot submersible Titan Cod, June 21, 2023 over the Atlantic Ocean
Flotilla of Hope: Ten ships from the US, Canada and France rushed to the Titanic wreck earlier this week to help with the search
“We respectfully ask that the privacy of these families be respected at this extremely painful time.”
Earlier, David Mearns, who was a friend of two of the men on board, said the “only saving grace” for the men was how quickly their deaths would have occurred.
The world had been praying for a “miracle” after rescuers estimated vital oxygen supplies would end at 7.08am EST (12.08pm UK time, 9.09pm Sydney) on Thursday.
Officials said the field was found by Odysseus 6k, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) deployed by Canadian ship Horizon Arctic, which can dive 20,000 feet underwater.
A glimmer of hope came yesterday when the Coast Guard confirmed P-3 aircraft had consistently picked up “popping” noises, but search teams were unable to locate the source of the noise or confirm that they were SOS signals acted that the world had hoped for.
The families of the five men on board the submarine have not yet publicly responded to news of the wreckage being found.
Experts have been warning for days of the possibility that Titan leaked and imploded under pressures 400 times those at sea level.
“They would be dead before they even knew anything had happened,” L. David Marquet, a retired Navy nuclear submarine commander, said earlier this week.
Earlier Thursday, before the debris was found, Rear Admiral John Mauger, who coordinated the operation from Boston, said during an appearance on NBC’s Today program, “People’s will to live must be considered.”
The submersible’s oxygen should theoretically have run out by 8 a.m. EST (1 p.m. BST) Thursday, according to the 96-hour limit listed in OceanGate’s vessel specifications.
The Titan submerged at 8:00 a.m. (1:00 p.m. BST) and lost communications at 9:45 (2:45 p.m.) but was not reported missing to the US Coast Guard until 5:40 p.m. (10:40 p.m.). The submarine was scheduled to return to Polar Prince at 3:00 p.m. EST (8:00 p.m. BST) on Sunday.
Since Sunday evening, there has been a desperate international effort to find it and rescue the men on board.
This is how Titan could have been rescued by the French ship if found tactfully. Experts now believe it likely imploded long before help arrived
Royal Air Force A400M Atlas aircraft at RAF Lossiemouth prepares to take off
Kathleen Cosnett, a cousin of British businessman Hamish Harding, 58, who was on board the submarine, said the eight-hour delay in contacting authorities was “far too long”.
She told the Telegraph: “It’s very scary.” It took so long for them to go out to save her, it’s way too long. I would have thought three hours would be the absolute minimum.”
Titan lost communications on Sunday during a voyage to Titanic off the coast of Canada about 435 miles south of St. John’s, Newfoundland. The last “ping” from his target device was heard on Sunday afternoon – directly above the world’s most famous wreck.
A Canadian Navy ship carrying paramedics specializing in treating health issues related to deep sea diving arrived at the scene at HMCS Glace Bay this morning. They also brought with them a hyperbaric chamber that can be used to decompress divers after they return to the surface.
Above the wreck was a fleet of at least ten ships, two robotic submarines and several aircraft, scanning the Atlantic for signs of Titan while sonar continued to pick up a popping sound from below. A Royal Navy submarine and equipment from a British company were also dispatched to help with the search.
The oceanographer and water search expert Dr. David Gallo said earlier Thursday: “It’s going to be almost impossible. We need a miracle – but miracles do happen.”
But former Royal Navy officer Chris Parry said as midday approached: “I’m afraid time has run out – I don’t think there’s any prospect now of getting these people out alive.”
Rescuers insisted they would continue to search for the men after the 96-hour oxygen window had passed.
As recently as Wednesday afternoon, Capt. Jamie Frederick, Coast Guard response coordinator for the First Coast Guard District, said, “This is 100 percent a search and rescue mission.”
A door with the signage removed can be seen at Ocean Gate’s headquarters in the Waterfront Building in the Port of Everett complex in Everett, Washington