I went on creaky Titanic sub – it felt like suicide mission with vessel held together by zip-ties and blighted by faults
AN explorer who braved plunging to the Titanic wreckage on the same submersible that has vanished branded the dive a "suicide mission".
Arthur Loibl, 60, embarked on the daring voyage in 2021 with Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush - who are both trapped on the missing vessel.
He paid out almost £90,000 for the trip - but before the sub even started its descent the team ran into issues.
Mr Loibl said the first sub "didn't work" before their vessel eventually went into the water five hours later than scheduled due to electrical problems.
But just before it was set to launch, he told how the bracket of the stabilisation tube - designed to balance the sub - tore and it was reattached with zip ties.
He told : "It was a suicide mission back then."
More on the missing sub
Mr Loibl said they were forced to sit cross-legged on the cramped sub for ten hours.
He said he is hoping for a miracle for the crew members stuck on the stricken sub.
The German adventurer added: "It must be hell down there. There's only 2.5m (8ft) of space, it's four degrees, there's no chair.
"I feel bad, I'm nervous, I have a sinking feeling in my stomach. I was incredibly lucky back then."
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Mr Loibl said the Titanic dive was the "most extreme" expedition he had ever taken on, having visited both the North and South Poles and flown over Russia in a fighter jet.
Guests and journalists who risked their lives to make the trip told of radio failures, flickering lights and being at the mercy of deep sea currents.
One Brit who signed up for a dive in the missing Titanic sub pulled out — questioning if the firm running it was “cutting too many corners”.
Thrill-seeker Chris Brown, 61, paid a deposit for the mission to the wreck along with pal Hamish Harding, 58, who is on the missing sub.
But he found its controls were “based on computer game-style controllers”.
Chris dropped out after becoming concerned by the quality of technology and materials used by OceanGate Expeditions.
Meanwhile, reporter Martin Phillips told of the perilous journey he had when he made the trip for The Sun in 2001.
He recalled how they were told just the "tiniest of things going awry" could see them cut in two by a powerful jet of water or crushed under the weight of the Atlantic Ocean.
Martin added: "I vividly recall how trepidation and claustrophobia battled with a rising sense of excitement as the hatch was slammed shut and we bobbed nauseatingly on the surface waiting to descend to the inky depths below."
He was accompanied by Sun reader Peter Bailey, who won a competition to go on the expedition.
Peter, now 59, of Matlock, Derbys, is praying that the crew of the missing tourist sub the Titan are found safe and well.
Earlier tonight he said: “It doesn’t bear thinking about. I remember my trip with Martin very vividly.
“We were aware of the dangers, that the sub could implode and just vaporise, or that we could get trapped.
“In our case there was a way we could eject part of the sub and float to the surface but I don’t think that’s the case with this sub."
And a writer on The Simpsons has revealed past safety fears and anxieties experienced by travellers on mini-sub trips to see the wreck of the Titanic.
Mike Reiss, who works on the classic US TV animated show, made the trip last year on the sub Titan and said communication failures were common.
He said: “I have taken three different dives with this company, one at the Titanic and two others and you almost always lost communication — and you are at the mercy of weather.”
The vessel is controlled by what passengers have likened to “Xbox controller” — but is, in fact, a handheld remote control made by computer firm Logitch.
Passengers described how the pilot resembled a computer gamer as they used the hand-held pad to move the sub forward, back and up and down.
It comes as crew members trapped on board the missing Titanic submersible are feared to have just 24 hours of oxygen left.
Rescuers race against the clock to find the stricken vessel after banging sounds were detected underwater - raising hopes of a miracle.
A pal of British billionaire Hamish Harding, who is on board the sub, said banging is exactly the tactic his friend would employ if stranded in the depths of the Atlantic.
Titanic OceanGate Submarine News
Everything you need to know about the missing submarine, which vanished near the Titanic on June 18, 2023.
- What happened to the OceanGate Submarine?
- When did it go missing?
- Who is Hamish Harding?
- How deep is the Titanic in the ocean?
- Can the passengers escape the submarine alive?
- Do submarines like this dissapear often and has this happened before?
- Who is taking part in the rescue effort?
- Who is Paul-Henry Nargeolet and what is he known for?
- Who else is missing on the stricken vessel?
- When did the Titanic sink and have people explored the wreckage before?
