Titanic sub update: Titan implosion to be probed by international agencies as teen’s mother speaks out

US Coast Guard declares ‘recovery of items from sea floor’ as priority

The US Coast Guard says the priority in its investigation into the fatal Titanic submersible implosion is the “recovery of items from the sea floor”.

Captain Jason Neubauer, chief investigator with the US Coast Guard, told reporters on Sunday, that: “My primary goal is to prevent a similar occurrence by making the necessary recommendations to enhance the safety of the maritime domain worldwide.”

A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) discovered debris from the Titan around 1,600ft from the bow of the liner days after it lost contact with its mother ship around 1 hour and 45 minutes into the dive.

Pelagic Research Services, the company that owns the ROV, tweeted pictures of the Titan recovery mission on Sunday.

Ariana Baio27 June 2023 16:00

Son turned down father’s offer for ‘bucket list’ trip on doomed Titanic sub over safety fears

A 20-year-old man who had a lucky escape from the doomed Titanic sub disaster has revealed how he turned down his father’s offer of a “bucket list” trip because he feared the vessel wasn’t safe.

Sean Bloom, 20, told People that he and his financier father Jay Bloom almost signed up to join OceanGate Expeditions’ tourist trip to visit the Titanic wreckage.

But, Mr Bloom said that he ultimately refused to go because he wasn’t convinced the Titan submersible would be able to withstand the pressure around 13,000 feet deep in the Atlantic Ocean.

“The whole reason my dad didn’t go was because I told him, ‘Dude, this submarine cannot survive going that deep in the ocean,’” Sean told People.

“I was worried because I didn’t think the submarine could withstand that kind of pressure and it wasn’t meant to go that far.”

He added: “That is a small submarine, with five people crammed inside. It just felt super unsafe. Something was telling me this was not the move.”

Ultimately, the Blooms decided against the trip and the final two seats were snapped up by a different father and son duo: Shahzada and Suleman Dawood.

Ariana Baio27 June 2023 15:30

Florida couple drop lawsuit against OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush

A Florida couple who sued Stockton Rush for refusing to refund their $210,000 deposit for a Titanic shipwreck tour have dropped the lawsuit after the OceanGate Expeditions CEO was among five to die in a “catastrophic implosion” last week.

Marc and Sharon Hagle filed a lawsuit in February claiming Rush had repeatedly cancelled a deep-sea dive they had booked on the Titan submersible in 2018.

After Rush was confirmed to have died on the Titan during an ill-fated trip to the famed North Atlantic shipwreck on Sunday 18 June, the couple said the “honour, respect and dignity” of the victims were more important than their claim

Bevan Hurley reports:

Ariana Baio27 June 2023 15:00

WATCH: Teenage Titanic submersible victim's mother shares last words she shared with son

Andrea Blanco27 June 2023 14:30

Whistleblowers warned OceanGate safety issues could prove ‘catastrophic’.

Safety concerns about the Titan submarine that imploded in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean with five people on board have been revealed in a number of scathing reports.

Josh Marcus reports:

Ariana Baio27 June 2023 14:00

PICTURED: This is the deep-sea robot that found the Titan’s debris

A week after the catastrophic implosion that killed all five passengers aboard the fated submersible, the Coast Guard announced that ROVs (remotely-operated vehicles) remain in place near where the Titan vanished.

The ROV that made the critical finding of the Titan’s chambers 1,600ft from the Titanic’s wreckage, the Odysseus 6K, was launched again on Sunday in further efforts to recover more debris, according to the company that operated the deep-sea robot.

“We continue to work tirelessly in our support role of this mission, alongside the incredible crew of Horizon Artic (the Canadian vessel that carried the Odysseus to the sea),” Pelagic Research Services CEO Ed Cassano said.

(Pelagic Research Services)

(Pelagic Research Services)

(Pelagic Research Services)

Andrea Blanco27 June 2023 13:30

Who is Shahzada Dawood? The Pakistani bussinessman who died on Titanic submarine with teenage son

British-based Pakistani tycoon and his teenage son are among five people who perished aboard the Titanic tourist submarine.

Report:

Namita Singh27 June 2023 13:00

Who fill foot the bill for rescue efforts?

The operator charged passengers $250,000 each to participate in the voyage.

“We cannot attribute a monetary value to Search and Rescue cases, as the Coast Guard does not associate cost with saving a life,” the agency said.

While the Coast Guard’s cost for the mission is likely to run into the millions of dollars, it is generally prohibited by federal law from collecting reimbursement related to any search or rescue service, said Stephen Koerting, a US attorney in Maine who specializes in maritime law.

But that does not resolve the larger issue of whether wealthy travelers or companies should bear responsibility to the public and governments for exposing themselves to such risk.

“This is one of the most difficult questions to attempt to find an answer for,” said Pete Sepp, president of the National Taxpayers Union, noting scrutiny of government-funded rescues dating back to British billionaire Richard Branson’s hot air balloon exploits in the 1990s.

“This should never be solely about government spending, or perhaps not even primarily about government spending, but you can’t help thinking about how the limited resources of rescuers can be utilized,” Sepp said.

AP

Andrea Blanco27 June 2023 12:30

Titanic actor died at 94

Lew Palter, who played the ancestor of OceanGate chief executive Stockton Rush’s wife in James Cameron’s Oscar-winning film Titanic, has died aged 94.

The US actor portrayed retail magnate Isidor Straus in the 1997 film, famously embracing his on-screen wife Ida (Elsa Raven) on a bed in their stateroom as the water rushed onto the ship, having refused to board a lifeboat until all the women and children had been evacuated.

Isidor and Ida Straus were the great-great-grandparents of Wendy Rush, whose husband died last week while piloting the submersible that imploded during a journey to view the Titanic wreckage.

Those on board Titan included UK citizens Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood and French national Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

Palter died on May 21 of lung cancer at his home in Los Angeles, his daughter Catherine Palter told US outlets on Tuesday. Prior to his role in 1997’s Titanic, Palter also starred as one of the Supreme Court justices in First Monday In October, as well as portraying an LAPD detective on the 1976 CBS series Delvecchio.

Palter joined CalArts School of Theatre in 1971, serving as an “acting teacher, director and mentor” at the Santa Clarita school until his retirement in 2013.

Namita Singh27 June 2023 12:00

OceanGate sub pilot job opening sparks backlash on TikTok

A job advert posted by the company that operated the doomed Titanic submersible that imploded last week in the Atlantic Ocean has sparked backlash on social media.

TikTok users have hit out at the since-deleted job posting by embattled OceanGate Expeditions, following the tragedy that killed all five of its passengers. According to the advertising featured on the company’s website and on Indeed, OceanGate was accepting applicants for a sub pilot position.

The company noted that it had an “urgent opening” and was looking for committed individuals with a “combination of strong mechanical and interpersonal skills,” and experience working with submersibles and boats as well as operating complex systems to support dive operations, Insider reported. Among other requirements, applicants were asked to be comfortable in a confined space and be able to fit through a 28-inch diameter ring.

OceanGate not only hosted tours to the wreck of the Titanic, but also to the Azores Archipelago in Portugal and to the Bahamas. One pilot, one “content expert” and three mission specialists — or fee-paying passengers without any previous experience needed — participated in every dive, according to the company’s website.

The post was removed sometime on Friday, a day after the US Coast Guard confirmed that the vessel’s chambers were found 1,600ft from the wreck of the Titanic on the ocean floor, but not without being noticed by furious sleuths that criticised the timing.

“Remember when everyone was saying “Don’t kill yourself for a job that would replace you within two weeks?” one user commented on a TikTok, while another argued, “It was a scheduled post. that’s how our job engine works...”

Although it is unclear when the job posting went up, it was likely well before OceanGate made international headlines as its sub vanished. However, TikTok users argued that the company should have been cautious enough to remove the posting as a four-day frantic search for the submersible unfolded.

It comes amid reports that OceanGate closed its headquarters in Everett, Washington State, following the Titan’s implosion, which killed CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his teenage son Suleman Dawood.

Andrea Blanco27 June 2023 11:30