The fatal implosion of the OceanGate Titan submersible that killed all five passengers on board has led to a broader international investigation into the safety of the vessel. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has stated that it may investigate if any criminal laws have been broken.
The investigation comes after mounting concerns surrounding the Titan’s design, including an expert submersible account from Karl Stanley, who warned the CEO of suspected defects regarding the vessel’s safety.
Stanley was aboard Titan for an underseas excursion off the coast of the Bahamas in April 2019 when he heard strange, loud noises aboard the ship.
The Titan imploded Sunday killing all five passengers on board, including Stockton Rush, the CEO of the vessel’s operator OceanGate Expeditions, and British businessman Hamish Harding.
Submersible Experts Raised Serious Safety Concerns With Titan CEO Years Before Implosion
Karl Stanley, who was aboard the Titan submersible prior to its implosion, questioned Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, regarding the vessel’s safety concerns in an email sent the day after his subsea excursion. CNN reports.
Stanley warned Rush about suspected defects relating to the vessel design. Rush did not respond in writing, but suspended that year's dives and replaced the vessel with a new carbon-fibre one at a cost of over $1m.
Stanley believes that Rush replaced the titan vessel with a new one built using the same material used by Boeing to build planes. Submersible experts warn that the Titan's submersible capability and the Titanic are not comparable.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada and US Coast Guard are investigating the cause of the fatal implosion of the Titan submersible en route to the iconic Titanic wreck, but other submersible experts have raised concerns about the safety of the vessel years before its implosion.
While OceanGate Expeditions marketed the Titan as a safe vessel, the submersible used materials that “simply didn't work,” according to Karl Stanley, who questioned Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, regarding the vessel’s safety concerns in an email sent the day after his subsea excursion.
The RCMP has initiated an “examination of the circumstances that led to the deaths” of the five passengers onboard to understand whether or not they warrant a full investigation. Any attempts to recover anything from the debris field will warrant a larger operation as the debris will likely be too heavy for Pelagic’s ROV to lift by itself, according to officials.
The Benefits and Dangers of Deep Ocean Exploration with Submersibles
Exploring the deep ocean through the use of submersibles has brought both benefits and dangers to humanity. The deep ocean spans the vast majority of the earth's surface and remains one of the least explored environments.
Submersibles give us the means to better understand the ocean's secrets and bring new advancements in science and technology to humankind. However, with these benefits come dangers that must be mitigated for ocean exploration with submersibles to remain safe and sustainable.
The benefits of exploring the deep ocean with submersibles are significant and wide-ranging. Submersibles offer an unprecedented view of the deep ocean, allowing scientists to study the diverse marine life that exists at depths unreachable by traditional methods. They also enable researchers to collect samples and study the geology of the seafloor, giving us a greater understanding of our planet's history, biogeochemical cycles, and the ocean's role in regulating the earth’s climate.
Furthermore, submersibles can detect and map ocean currents, enabling us to better understand and predict the effects of climate change, making marine renewable energy a reality, and opening up new opportunities in bioprospecting for new drug discovery.
However, deep ocean exploration with submersibles also comes with risks. The hostile and extreme environment of the deep ocean can be dangerous, with extreme pressures, low temperatures, and oxygen deprivation being constant issues. Submersibles are also subject to technical failure, which can result in a loss of life and resources.
In rare cases, submersibles have been lost, sinking to great depths, and endangering those on the surface as well. The use of submersibles also has the potential to disturb and damage the seabed and its ecosystems, creating irreversible damage to marine life.
To mitigate these dangers, it is essential to develop and implement better technology and safety practices for the use of submersibles in deep ocean exploration. This includes regular maintenance and testing of submersibles and equipment, comprehensive safety procedures, and better training of personnel.
There is a need for more international regulations to ensure the safety of submersibles and the integrity of the seafloor. Additionally, submersibles should be equipped with adequate communication and positioning systems to improve the response time in case of an emergency.
Share Your Thoughts