Experimental submarine the Titan sank in June 2023 while exploring the wreck of the Titanic. The controversial craft imploded while deep beneath the surface of the ocean killing five people onboard, and now a recording of the Titan’s final moments has been shared by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The Titan was a craft designed and operated by OceanGate in order to take millionaires on sightseeing trips to the wreck of the Titanic. The sub comprised a carbon fiber tube with titanium caps at either end, which were bolted shut from the outside once passengers had boarded. The design proved to be the sub’s undoing and it imploded while beneath the surface of the ocean in 2023, killing everybody onboard.
The craft’s final moments beneath the waves were captured by an underwater recorder and the sound of it imploding has now been released by the NOAA, reports LBC News. In the clip, which is available to hear below, the static sound of the ocean is shattered by a great rumble, which sounds almost like a wave crashing against the beach. It’s this noise that is thought to be the total failure of the Titan, as LBC adds:
It is believed that the noise is the ‘acoustic signature’ of the sub imploding on 18th June 2023.
It was recorded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration device about 900 miles from where the sub was last seen on radar, south of Newfoundland, Canada, US Coast Guard officials announced
The five crew members who died onboard the sub were British explorer sub were Hamish Harding, 58, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood , 48, and his son Suleman, 19, French deep-sea explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet (known as “Mr Titanic”), 77, and and co-founder of the submarines owner’s company OceanGate, Stockton Rushton, 61.
An investigation into the destruction of the submarine was launched last year and has so far uncovered issues with the craft’s design and operation. Titan reportedly also ran into problems on previous expeditions to the Titanic, which involved diving to depths of more than 12,oo0 feet below the surface.
The audio of its demise is the latest clue as to what went wrong with the craft, which is thought to have collapsed under the pressure of the sea in June 2023. The wreckage of the craft was subsequently found on the seabed around 12,000 feet below the waves.
Since the disaster, it’s emerged that OceanGate boss Stockton Rush once claimed that he was prepared to ‘buy a congressman” should his pleasure cruises to the Titanic be put on hold. Rush also called safety a “waste,” according to a suite filed by an employee who reportedly highlighted issues with the design of the Titan sub. Not the kind of guy I’d trust with my life below the waves, personally.