The final words of the Titan submersible crew before the vessel’s tragic implosion have been revealed during a U.S. Coast Guard hearing investigating the incident. The five passengers aboard the Titan, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, explorer Hamish Harding, businessman Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman, and French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, were communicating with the support vessel, Polar Prince, when contact was lost. The crew’s last message was a simple “all good” before the sub imploded while descending to the Titanic wreck at 12,500 feet.
The hearing is scrutinizing OceanGate’s practices and the potential negligence leading to the disaster. Former OceanGate engineer Tony Nissen testified that he was unsurprised by the failure, stating that rapid decompression had been detected during testing. Despite raising concerns, OceanGate’s CEO Brian Spencer resisted making changes, prioritizing cost and time over safety, according to Nissen’s testimony.
Nissen also highlighted that the submersible had never been officially classified by the Classification Society, a group responsible for maintaining safety standards in ship construction. This decision, influenced by time and expense, may have played a role in the tragedy, though Nissen acknowledged it might not have prevented the disaster entirely.
The Titan’s implosion has led to widespread criticism of OceanGate’s approach to safety and regulation. The hearing aims to uncover the full extent of any failings and ensure such incidents are avoided in the future.
