I dived on Titanic sub with James Cameron – Deep-sea tours must continue despite implosion but with very strict rule
A DEEP-SEA explorer said that expeditions to the Titanic must continue despite the Titan submersible implosion, but with a very strict rule.
Parks Stephenson explained that vehicles used to dive the wreck, either for scientific research our tourism, must be certified to avoid a second catastrophe.
The explorer has visited the wreck site multiple times, including with Titanic director James Cameron and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, one of the five victims aboard the doomed sub.
Parks argued that all trips to the sunken ship are important as they always bring some information.
He said: “In the wake of the OceanGate submersible disaster, the question has been raised: should dives to Titanic continue?
“In my opinion, I would respond with a firm ‘yes’ but included in that is a qualifier.
“I have made the argument that dives to Titanic for scientific or technical purposes should continue, despite the recent submersible disaster.
“But should the so-called tourist dives? They serve the primary purpose of taking ordinary people to see the world’s most famous shipwreck for a price.
“Every dive to Titanic brings back some information.
“This could be a casual update on the progress of deterioration or, in the best case, the capture of some genuinely new information.
“Even tourist dives have worth, in my opinion.
“Therefore yes, I believe that all non-destructive dives to the Titanic wreck should be encouraged to continue.
“But not before the imposition of a mandatory requirement – a law, if you will – that all passenger-carrying submersibles must be class-rated.”
Parks explained that every submersible he has dived in has not only been class-rated, but thoroughly tested and certified to safely operate at the intended depths.
Therefore as long as future dives are conducted safely and in certified vehicles, he does not see a reason to stop them despite last month’s disaster.
Parks dived Titanic aboard the Russian Mir-1 in 2005, and the American Limiting Factor in 2019.
He is now executive director of the USS Kidd Veterans Museum in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Although he has switched his focus to wrecks from the Pacific theatre of the Second World War, Parks still believes the Titanic has secrets left to reveal.
He said: “I passionately disagree with those who claim that there is nothing more that the wreck can teach us about the history of the disaster.
“Interest in her has not abated in over a century since the original disaster.
“This interest sparks investment, investment leads to innovation, which in turn leads to more knowledge and better understanding – not just of Titanic but also of her deep-ocean environment.”
Last month, five men on board the missing Titan sub died instantly when the vessel suffered a “catastrophic” implosion.
Operator OceanGate said “true explorers” Stockton Rush, Brit billionaire Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman were “sadly lost”.
But while rescuers were still trying to locate the submersible, fears were raised over the “improvised” and “experimental” nature of the vessel and the inability for the passengers inside to escape since they are bolted within.
Made by OceanGate Expeditions, the cramped 22ft (6.7m) carbon fibre submersible had only one porthole at the front and did not have a GPS system.
The deep-sea sub was instead guided by text messages exchanged using an acoustic system with a team waiting helplessly above water.
Strange footage from inside the vessel also revealed that it was all unusually run by a Xbox-style controller and could mostly be operated using only one button.
An expert also claimed his safety fears were dismissed by Titan sub boss Stockton Rush – who blasted him for “stopping innovation”.
Rob McCallum was shut down told the OceanGate CEO he was putting his passengers in danger.
The deep-sea exploration expert begged Rush to get a safety certificate for the sub before giving rides to paying customers – but was ignored.
The reported that Rob told Rush: “You are wanting to use a prototype un-classed technology in a very hostile place.
“As much as I appreciate entrepreneurship and innovation, you are potentially putting an entire industry at risk.
Rush replied that his “engineering focused, innovative approach flies in the face of the submersible orthodoxy – but that is the nature of innovation”.
