Missing Titanic submarine updates — Investigation ‘taking precautions’ in case human remains are discovered
THE US Coast Guard is "taking precautions" in case human remains are discovered in the search for the remains of the destroyed Titan submersible.
Speaking in a press conference on Sunday, Coast Guard officials confirmed that the investigation into the OceanGate submersible is ongoing.
Captain Jason Neubauer, , told reporters: “I’m not getting into the details of the recovery operations but we are taking all precautions on site if we are to encounter any human remains.
“At this time, a priority of the investigation is to recover items from the sea floor.
“We have already mapped the accident site in the field so the other factors would be part of ”
Follow our missing Titanic submarine blog for updates...
Who was Hamish Harding?
Hamish Harding was a businessman, aviator, and space tourist from the UK.
He carved a successful career for himself in aviation after graduating from Cambridge with a degree in natural sciences and chemical engineering
Harding was based in the UAE, where he ran commercial and private aircraft company Action Aviation.
The 58-year-old held several Guinness World Records thanks to his various missions as an explorer and space tourist.
He was awarded a Living Legend of Aviation in 2022, joining Tom Cruise and fellow businessman Kenn Ricci, and took a trip to space in 2022 with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin company.
Harding was a well-known polar explorer and took Moon-landing astronaut Buzz Aldrin to the South Pole in 2016, making Buzz, then 86, the oldest person to reach the pole.
Nasa astronaut Terry Virts spoke about his friend Harding on Good Morning Britain, describing him as the "quintessential British explorer" and saying he would "want him in his corner" during a crisis.
Probe into Titanic sub implosion launched
Police have launched an urgent probe into the Titanic sub implosion that killed five crew members.
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush died alongside British billionaire , French Navy Veteran , businessman Shahzada Dawood, and Dawood’s 19-year-old son Suleman.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police have now confirmed they are looking into the circumstances of the deaths, Superintendent Kent Osmond said.
It comes as a number of safety fears for the vessel were reportedly dismissed.
Tributes to father and son
The family of Shahzada Dawood and Suleman, 19, shared their heartache.
They said: “It is with profound grief that we announce the passing of Shahzada and Suleman Dawood.
“Our beloved sons were aboard OceanGate’s Titan submersible that perished underwater.
“Please continue to keep the separated souls and our family in your prayers during this difficult period of mourning.
“We are truly grateful to all those involved in the rescue operations.
“Their untiring efforts were a source of strength for us during this time.
“We are also indebted to our friends, family, colleagues, and well-wishers from all over the world who have stood by us during our hour of need.
“The immense love and support we receive continues to help us.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the other passengers on the Titan submersible.
“Details of their final rites in this world will be announced soon.”
What made the Titanic ‘unsinkable’
On April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg on its journey to New York City.
Prior to taking on passengers, the 883 feet long ship was considered unsinkable because four of its 16 components “could be flooded without causing a critical loss of buoyancy,” according to .
Initially, the company that owns the Titanic, White Star Line, claimed the ship was “designed to be unsinkable,” according to their brochure.
Media outlets then advanced the narrative that it was, making passengers believe it to be true.
Titanic passenger, Margaret Devaney said: “I took passage on the Titanic for I thought it would be a safe steamship and I had heard it could not sink.”
Stockton Rush’s view on safety
Titanic sub CEO Stockton Rush previously claimed there should be .
Mr Rush said in an interview with CBS last year: “You know, at some point, safety is just a pure waste.
“I mean, if you just want to be safe, don’t get out of bed, don’t get in your car, don’t do anything. At some point, you’re going to take some risk, and it really is a risk-reward question.
“I think I can do this just as safely while breaking the rules.”
Family of Hamish Harding pay tribute
Hamish’s sons Rory and Giles have released heartbreaking statements.
One son said: ''My dad was a tenacious, hard-working businessman but most importantly, he was the best father I could have ever asked for.
''He inspired me more than anyone will ever know. My life will be a success if I’m even half the man he is. My dad is gone but I will never forget him.''
The other added: ''The world is so much less without his larger-than-life presence and optimistic spirit.''
Poignant moment ship which carried doomed Titanic sub returns to port
The ship which carried the Titan sub and its passengers returned to shore yesterday.
An investigation is now under way.
Police and safety experts boarded the Polar Prince shortly after it docked in Newfoundland, Canada.
They will ask about safety operations and why the alarm was not raised until eight hours after contact with the submersible was lost.
The launching platform from which the 22ft sub was dropped was also taken into the harbour and is likely to be examined.
Inside the ‘curse’ of the Titanic
Conspiracy theorists believe that the Titanic was “cursed” before it even set sail.
Here we take a look at what they had to say after the recent tragedy of five victims shook the world.
Will the bodies of the passengers be found?
It’s highly unlikely that any remains from the five passengers on board the Titan will be found.
Disaster medicine expert at Florida International University, Aileen Marty, told CNN: “There would be virtually nothing. They’re very unlikely to find anything there of human tissue.”
It comes as the Titan sub suffered a “catastrophic implosion” and the US Coast Guard “don’t have an answer” as to whether they’ll find anything.
Robot searches for more debris
The remotely operated vehicle (ROV) – commonly referred to as a robot – found “five different major pieces of debris” during its search for the Titan, Paul Hankins reported.
The Odysseus 6 was the only robot to make it to the immense depths where the Titanic wreck lays and now it will continue its search for more debris.
The CEO of Underwater Forensic Investigators – who took part in a Titanic expedition in 2005 – Tom Maddox, said: “What they would do now is go back to that site and, like cookie crumbs, try to find a trail as to where that would lead.
“So the big project right now is going to be trying to collect those parts. They’ll mark them, they’ll indicate where they were, and they’ll lay out a map of where those parts were found.”
A spokesperson from Pelagic Research Services who operate the Odysseus 6 said that the ROV will continue its search and will work alongside Deep Energy to help bring up any debris.
WATCH: Video may show what happened to Titan submersible
A horrifying video on Tiktok has shown the potential outcomes of the Titan submersible’s fate.
Search officials confirmed on Thursday that debris found in the search area for the sub belonged to OceanGate’s vessel.
The five passengers were presumed dead.
Why was there an 8-hour delay before the alarm was raised?
OceanGate Expeditions has been criticised for an eight-hour delay before it alerted the US Coast Guard that it had lost contact with the Titan.
The vessel submerged at 1pm UK time on Sunday around 400 miles southeast of St John’s, Newfoundland.
But roughly after an hour and 45 minutes into the descent, it lost contact with the Polar Prince.
However, it wasn’t reported missing to the US Coast Guard until eight hours later at 10.40pm.
Kathleen Cosnett, a cousin of Hamish Harding, told the Telegraph the eight-hour delay was “far too long”.
Kathleen said: “It’s very frightening. It took so long for them to get going to rescue them, it’s far too long.
“I would have thought three hours would be the bare minimum.”
OceanGate has not explained the delay.
Canada opens probe into Titan submersible’s safety
Canadian safety officials have opened an investigation into the implosion of the Titan submersible, putting its safety measures into question.
Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB) said it’s launching a “safety investigation regarding the circumstances” of the Titan’s operations who’s surfance support vessel is the Polar Prince – a Canadian-flagged ship.
Questions about Stockton Rush’s choice of carbon fibre to fabricate the pressure hull of the sub, the design and maintenance and consumer-grade parts on Titan such as the Logitech controller by which the vessel was led, were raised.
Father and son pulled out of Titanic tour
Investor Jay Bloom and his son Sean have told CNN how they pulled out of the Titanic tour that OceanGate’s submersible offers those interested.
Sean, 20, said how he “saw a lot of red flags” as he assumed that the submersible couldn’t “survive going that low into the ocean.”
He warned his dad Jay who agreed with him and spoke on how “surreal” it felt to learn about the tragic news.
He said: “The most haunting thing about it is when you look at the news, hopping on my laptop and social media, television, it was everywhere.”
Recalling the time OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush met with him to speak about the expedition: “I started to think about it. He’s coming in on a two-seater experimental plane to pitch me to go on a five-seater experimental sub that he has built down to the ocean floor to see the Titanic.
“He has a different risk appetite than I do. I’m a pilot. I have my helicopter pilots license. I would not get into an experimental aircraft. All I could see when I saw that father and son was myself and my son, that could’ve been us.”
University friends pay tribute to 19-year-old victim
Close friends of Suleman Dawood – who attended Strathclyde University – have paid tribute to the “incredibly generous and kind person.
Speaking to Sky, one of his friends Isaac said: “Suleman was not only an incredibly generous and kind person in the conventional sense, he also had a remarkable capacity for giving his time and empathy.
“Suleman embodied everything of a true friendship, he always displayed genuine concern for me and my friends, and was always there to give support.
“His presence in my life was a comforting reminder that someone truly cared for me and would be there with me through anything. The world has lost such a wonderful person and my love goes out to the Dawood family.”
Further search continued on Friday
Despite finding the debris which confirmed the implosion of the Titan Sub, a scaled-back search continued on Friday.
Robots – remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) continued to scan the sea floor to try and find further evidence into what happened to the sub which went deep into Atlantic waters.
Together with surface ships and aircraft, the robots have been working endlessly since Sunday and experts believe that the search has cost millions of dollars.
YouTuber’s trip cancelled days before same vessel imploded
YouTuber Dallmyd – real name’s Jake – revealed how he was due to go on one of the trips offered by OceanGate which gives people the opportunity to look at the remains of the Titanic.
Jake posted a video on Friday telling people how his trip was cancelled due to a series of malfunctions.
He told followers: “If my dive wasn’t canceled, it could’ve been me inside that submarine today.”
Ships searching for missing Titan start heading back to shore
As officials wrapped up their search for the missing Titan submersible, they started heading back to shore to prepare for an investigation into the implosion.
The investigation will be led by the US Coast Guard with the assistance of the US National Transportation Safety Board.
Meanwhile, Canadian investigators will look into Titan’s Canada-flagged support ship, the Polar Prince – which is due to arrive and dock in the early hours of Saturday.
The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) confirmed two vessels were heading to St John’s harbour on Friday evening while one remained on site.
How families could sue Titanic firm despite crew signing death waivers
Families of those who died on board the doomed Titan sub could sue OceanGate despite signing death waivers, experts said.
The firm's CEO Stockton Rush, Brit billionaire Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman tragically died on a dive to the Titanic wreck.
What to know about Hamish Harding
Hamish Harding was one of the five passengers aboard the Titan when it reportedly imploded.
He is a businessman, aviator, and space tourist from the UK.
He carved a successful career for himself in aviation after graduating from Cambridge with a degree in natural sciences and chemical engineering
At the time he went missing Harding was based in the UAE, where he ran commercial and private aircraft company Action Aviation.
Harding holds several Guinness World Records thanks to his various missions as an explorer and space tourist.
University friends pay tribute to 19-year-old victim
Close friends of Suleman Dawood – who attended Strathclyde University – have paid tribute to the “incredibly generous and kind person.
Speaking to Sky, one of his friends Isaac said: “Suleman was not only an incredibly generous and kind person in the conventional sense, he also had a remarkable capacity for giving his time and empathy.
“Suleman embodied everything of a true friendship, he always displayed genuine concern for me and my friends, and was always there to give support.
“His presence in my life was a comforting reminder that someone truly cared for me and would be there with me through anything. The world has lost such a wonderful person and my love goes out to the Dawood family.”
Father and son pulled out of Titanic tour
Investor Jay Bloom and his son Sean have told CNN how they pulled out of the Titanic tour that OceanGate’s submersible offers those interested.
Sean, 20, said how he “saw a lot of red flags” as he assumed that the submersible couldn’t “survive going that low into the ocean.”
He warned his dad Jay who agreed with him and spoke on how “surreal” it felt to learn about the tragic news.
He said: “The most haunting thing about it is when you look at the news, hopping on my laptop and social media, television, it was everywhere.”
Recalling the time OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush met with him to speak about the expedition: “I started to think about it. He’s coming in on a two-seater experimental plane to pitch me to go on a five-seater experimental sub that he has built down to the ocean floor to see the Titanic.
“He has a different risk appetite than I do. I’m a pilot. I have my helicopter pilots license. I would not get into an experimental aircraft. All I could see when I saw that father and son was myself and my son, that could’ve been us.”
Probe into Titanic sub implosion launched
Police have launched an urgent probe into the Titanic sub implosion that killed five crew members.
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush died alongside British billionaire , French Navy Veteran , businessman Shahzada Dawood, and Dawood's 19-year-old son Suleman.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police have now confirmed they are looking into the circumstances of the deaths, Superintendent Kent Osmond said.
It comes as a number of safety fears for the vessel were reportedly dismissed.
Victims’ remains may be left ‘in peace where they are’
The Titan crew may be left “in peace” according to officials, instead of trying to recover the victims’ bodies, a marine consultancy chief has suggested.
Captain John Noble, director at Constellation Marine Services, tells said the five men are “in a resting place along with hundreds of Titanic passengers”.
Speaking to Sky News he added: “The decision may well be to leave them in peace where they are.”
Titanic director James Cameron says there were three possible areas of structural failure on Titan sub
Deep-sae exploration veteran and blockbuster movie director James Cameron has said there were three possible areas of structural failure on the Titan submersible which may have led to its tragic implosion.
Speaking with Good Morning America, Cameron said: “There were two titanium end caps on each end. They are relatively intact on the seafloor, but that carbon fibre composite cylinder is now just in very small pieces and it’s all rammed into one of the hemispheres. So it’s pretty clear that that’s what failed.
“The question is, was it the primary failure or a secondary failure from something else happening?”
