OceanGate Suspends All Explorations 2 Weeks After Titanic Submersible implosion
OceanGate's expeditions will not go on. For now, at least.
Two weeks after its Titan submersible imploded on a voyage to the Titanic wreckage, killing all five passengers on board, the company noted on its website July 6 that all exploration and commercial operations have been suspended.
On June 18, the 22-foot sub went missing nearly two hours after its descent off the coast of Newfoundland, causing a massive search—and a story that gripped the world's attention.
On board was the company's CEO Stockton Rush as well as British billionaire Hamish Harding, diver and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood.
Shortly after the 96-hour deadline for available oxygen supply passed on June 22, OceanGate confirmed the entire crew had died.
"These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world's oceans," the company said in a statement. "Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew."
"This is an extremely sad time for our dedicated employees who are exhausted and grieving deeply over this loss," the message continued. "The entire OceanGate family is deeply grateful for the countless men and women from multiple organizations of the international community who expedited wide-ranging resources and have worked so very hard on this mission."
That afternoon, the Coast Guard discovered the tail cone of the Titan in the search area as well as large pieces of debris it described as "consistent with a catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber."
While officials have not yet determined what exactly caused the sub to implode, Titanic director James Cameron called out the flaw in the ship's carbon-fiber composite, noting it had "no strength in compression."
As he told the New York Times, deep sea explorations like this are "not what it's designed for."
Still, the celebrated diver struggled to wrap his mind around the eerie parallels between the Titanic and the Titan.
"For a very similar tragedy, where warnings went unheeded, to take place at the same exact site with all the diving that's going on all around the world, I think it's just astonishing," Cameron told ABC News. "It's really quite surreal."
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