Titanic sub update – YouTuber reveals he was invited on fated Titan tour as submersible’s implosion probed

A popular Youtuber has revealed he was invited on the OceanGate Titanic expedition tour that imploded last week, killing all five of its passengers.

James Donaldson, most known as MrBeast on Youtube for his videos giving out charity, said that he had declined the invitation.

“I was invited earlier this month to ride the [T]itanic submarine, I said no. Kind of scary that I could have been on it,” Mr Donaldson tweeted.

Meanwhile, authorities from the US and Canada said they will investigate the cause of the catastrophic implosion. The US Coast Guard, assisted by the US National Transportation Safety Board, as well as the Transportation Safety Board of Canada will launch investigations.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they too would be looking into whether a formal criminal investigation is warranted.

The Coast Guard announced debris from the sub was located approximately 12,500 feet (3,810 metres) underwater and 1,600 feet away from the Titanic wreckage. OceanGate Expeditions’ submersible was on its way to the wreckage when it lost communication with its surface ship and eventually imploded on Sunday, 18 June.

For four days an international search and rescue mission was conducted in the hopes of finding the five people on the submersible.

Aboard the watercraft were OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his teenage son Suleman Dawood.

Key points

• US Coast Guard to lead investigation of sub disaster

• Why did the Titanic sub implode?

• James Cameron reveals he knew Titanic sub imploded on Monday

• Secret US Navy underwater microphones ‘detected Titan sub implosion’

• Where is the Titanic wreck – and how far down is it?

US Coast Guard declares ‘recovery of items from sea floor’ as priority in Titanic sub investigation

21:54 , Andrea Blanco

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

The Independent’s Graeme Massie reports:

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

Who fill foot the bill for rescue efforts?

21:15 , Andrea Blanco

When millionaire Steve Fossett’s plane went missing over the Nevada range in 2007, the swashbuckling adventurer had already been the subject of two prior emergency rescue operations thousands of miles apart.

And that prompted a prickly question: After a sweeping search for the wealthy risktaker ended, who should foot the bill?

In recent days, the massive hunt for a submersible vehicle lost during a north Atlantic descent to explore the wreckage of the Titanic has refocused attention on that conundrum. And with rescuers and the public fixated first on saving and then on mourning those aboard, it has again made for uneasy conversation.

“Five people have just lost their lives and to start talking about insurance, all the rescue efforts and the cost can seem pretty heartless — but the thing is, at the end of the day, there are costs,” Arun Upneja, dean of Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration and a researcher on tourism, told the Associated Press.

The U.S. Coast Guard declined Friday to provide a cost estimate for its efforts to locate the Titan, the submersible investigators say imploded not far from the world’s most famous shipwreck. The five people lost included a billionaire British businessman and a father and son from one of Pakistan’s most prominent families.

“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.

AP

US Coast Guard debunks pictures ‘showing Titan’s wreck'

19:59 , Andrea Blanco

Photographs circulating online, which internet users claimed showed the remains of OceanGate’s Titan submersible, have been debunked.

The US Coast Guard confirmed to the Associated Press reported that there are no public images of the wreckage so far.

Two of the pictures that allegedly showed the Titan’s debris are actually from the remains of the Titanic itself and were taken in 2004.

Titanic to return to Netflix next month

19:17 , Andrea Blanco

Netflix to stream Titanic from 1 July, just days after the Titan submersible disaster that killed five people.

The five on board were on a mission to visit the ruins of the Titanic ship which sank in 1912, killing 1500 people.

However, Netflix is also facing criticism on social media after the streaming giant released a trailer for its new freediving documentary, The Deepest Breath.

Produced by A24, The Deepest Breath tells the story of Alessia Zecchini, the current holder of the freediving world record.

The trailer was shared on Tuesday (20 June) as rescue efforts were well underway to find the five missing passengers onboard the Titan, which went missing on an expedition to see the Titanic shipwreck.

On Twitter, many Netflix subscribers questioned the timing of the deep-sea-related release given the tragedy.

“The timing of this,” one person commented.

“Probably not the best timing for this,” another agreed.

OceanGate closes headquarter

18:40 , Andrea Blanco

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

The leasing agent said in a statement to The Seattle Times that the company would be closing indefinitely.

US and Canada authorities open probe into Titan’s implosion

18:22 , Andrea Blanco

Authorities from the U.S. and Canada began the process of investigating the cause of the fatal Titan submersible implosion even as they grappled with questions of who was responsible for determining how the tragedy unfolded.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Friday that the U.S. Coast Guard has declared the loss of the Titan submersible to be a “major marine casualty” and the Coast Guard will lead the investigation. NTSB spokesperson Peter Knudson said that information was provided to the agency’s senior management by Coast Guard officials, and the NTSB has joined the investigation.

WATCH: Ships return to harbour as Titan submersible recovery operations begin to wind down

17:37 , Andrea Blanco

Titanic’s director ‘struck by similarity of Titan’s disaster’s to sinking of 1912 vessel

16:41 , Andrea Blanco

In an interview with ABC News, the director of the 1997 blockbuster criticised the Titan’s lack of certifications, noting that the tragedy was completely avoidable.

“I’m struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship, and yet, he steamed up full speed into an ice field on a moonless night, and many people died as a result,” James Cameron said.

“And for a very similar tragedy, where warnings went unheeded, to take place at the same exact site, with all the diving that’s going on all around the world, I think it’s just astonishing, it’s really quite surreal.”

Data from Titan’s mother ship to be analysed

15:57 , Andrea Blanco

Canadian officials have revealed that audio and commands between the Titan and its mother ship Polar Prince will be subject to an investigation.

The chair of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, Kathy Fox, said that the crew was interviewed to “collect information from the vessel’s voyage data recorder and other vessel systems that contain useful information,” according to CNN.

Ms Fox noted that the goal was to determine what went wrong after the Titan lost contact with its mother ship just an hour and 45 minutes into its descent to the wreckage of the Titanic.

After ROVs (remotely-operated vehicles) found debris found 1,600 feet from the wreck of the Titanic, the US Coast Guard determined that all five passengers aboard the submersible were killed after the vessel imploded.

The Polar Prince returned to St John’s on Saturday with its flags at half-mast.

American Youtuber reveals he was asked to go on OceanGate tour before tragedy

15:35 , Andrea Blanco

James Donaldson, most known as Mr Beast on Youtube, revealed on Sunday that he was asked to join the Titan crew.

“I was invited earlier this month to ride the titanic submarine, I said no. Kind of scary that I could have been on it,” Mr Donaldson, who is famous on the platform for his videos giving out charity, tweeted.

OceanGate sub’ carbon fiber design 'was not proven as reliable’

15:04 , Andrea Blanco

The submarine expedition to the Titanic that claimed five lives over the weekend relied on a design featuring key components made out of carbon fiber, which experts say hasn’t been proven as a reliable material for deep sea use.

“Innovation is a wonderful thing,” Bart Kemper, a mechanical engineer from the Marine Technology Society, told NBC News. “But everything that is new and not tried introduces uncertainty, and uncertainty is risk.”

The wreck of the Titanic is at about 13,000 feet under the ocean, multiple times deeper than where US Navy subs typically operate. At that depth, pressure is nearly 400 times that of the ocean’s surface.

“It’s a design that’s not been used in this way at this depth,” Mr Kemper added. “All it has to do is fail in one spot and game over.”

Netflix to stream Titanic

15:03 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Netflix to stream Titanic from 1 July, just days after the Titan submersible disaster that killed five people.

The five on board were on a mission to visit the ruins of the Titanic ship which sank in 1912, killing 1500 people.

However, Netflix is also facing criticism on social media after the streaming giant released a trailer for its new freediving documentary, The Deepest Breath.

Produced by A24, The Deepest Breath tells the story of Alessia Zecchini, the current holder of the freediving world record.

The trailer was shared on Tuesday (20 June) as rescue efforts were well underway to find the five missing passengers onboard the Titan, which went missing on an expedition to see the Titanic shipwreck.

On Twitter, many Netflix subscribers questioned the timing of the deep-sea-related release given the tragedy.

“The timing of this,” one person commented.

“Probably not the best timing for this,” another agreed.

Canadian police weigh criminal investigation over Titan sub disaster

14:00 , Ariana Baio

Police in Canada announced on Saturday that they are considering a criminal investigation over the deaths of five men in the Oceangate submersible implosion.

Superintendent Kent Osmond of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Newfoundland and Labrador said law enforcement were in the early stages of the probe.

“Following the US Coast Guard’s announcement earlier this week that debris from the submersible was located and all five on board were presumed dead, we will now look at the circumstances that led to those deaths,” Mr Osmond said, at a press conference.

“Such an investigation will proceed only if our examination of the circumstances indicate criminal, federal or provincial laws may possibly have been broken.”

Ariana Baio reports:

Canadian police weigh criminal investigation over Titan sub disaster

Nine looming questions in Titanic sub catastrophe

13:00 , Ariana Baio

The desperate five-day search for the missing Titan submersible came to a tragic end on Thursday when debris was discovered close to the Titanic shipwreck.

OceanGate CEO and founder Stockton Rush, British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, renowned French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman set off on a trip of a lifetime on Sunday morning (18 June), traveling around 13,000 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean to visit the famed ocean liner’s wreckage.

But the five explorers met a chillingly similar fate to the doomed White Star Line ship more than a century earlier.

Now, as ROVs continue to search the debris field, questions are mounting about what went wrong, whether the tragedy could have been avoided and what happens next.

The Independent reports:

These nine questions remain unanswered in the Titanic sub catastrophe

US and Canada start the process of determining how the Titanic-bound submersible imploded

12:00 , Ariana Baio

Authorities from the U.S. and Canada began the process of investigating the cause of the fatal Titan submersible implosion even as they grappled with questions of who was responsible for determining how the tragedy unfolded.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Friday that the U.S. Coast Guard has declared the loss of the Titan submersible to be a “major marine casualty” and the Coast Guard will lead the investigation. NTSB spokesperson Peter Knudson said that information was provided to the agency’s senior management by Coast Guard officials, and the NTSB has joined the investigation.

Watch: Ships return to harbour as Titan submersible recovery operations begin to wind down

11:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Canada is investigating why the Titanic-bound submersible imploded

10:59 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said Saturday that it’s conducting an investigation into the loss of the Titan submersible and has been speaking with those who traveled on Titan‘s mothership, the Polar Prince.

The development comes as authorities from the U.S. and Canada began the process of probing the cause of the underwater implosion and grappled with questions of who was responsible for determining how the tragedy unfolded.

Maritime agencies are searching the area in the North Atlantic where the vessel was destroyed, killing all five people aboard.

Debris was located about 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) underwater, several hundred feet away from the Titanic wreckage it was on its way to explore.

“We are conducting a safety investigation in Canada given that this was a Canadian-flagged vessel that departed a Canadian port and was involved in this occurrence, albeit in international waters,” said Kathy Fox, chair of the transportation board.

“Other agencies may choose to conduct investigations and that’s up to them.”

Carbon fiber design of OceanGate sub was unproven, experts say

10:00 , Ariana Baio

The submarine expedition to the Titanic that claimed five lives over the weekend relied on a design featuring key components made out of carbon fiber, which experts say hasn’t been proven as a reliable material for deep sea use.

“Innovation is a wonderful thing,” Bart Kemper, a mechanical engineer from the Marine Technology Society, told NBC News. “But everything that is new and not tried introduces uncertainty, and uncertainty is risk.”

The wreck of the Titanic is at about 13,000 feet under the ocean, multiple times deeper than where US Navy subs typically operate. At that depth, pressure is nearly 400 times that of the ocean’s surface.

“It’s a design that’s not been used in this way at this depth,” Mr Kemper added. “All it has to do is fail in one spot and game over.”

Suleman Dawood: Teenager who died on submersible ‘had a sense’ Titanic expedition ‘was not okay’

09:00 , Ariana Baio

Voices: Why ‘dark tourists’ pay to put their lives at risk

08:00 , Ariana Baio

“The phenomenon of “dark tourism” has fascinated researchers for many years, but tourists are being increasingly drawn to places associated with atrocity, violence and disaster. Historic sites include Auschwitz-Birkenau, Chernobyl (before the war in Ukraine) and Ground Zero. However, “experiences” can now be excursions to sites of slavery, war, the famous dead, serial murder, natural disasters and, as in the case of the OceanGate trip, maritime tragedies such as the Titanic.”

Dr Donna Poade writes:

Opinion: Why ‘dark tourists’ pay to put their lives at risk

Flags half-mast as Titan support ship docks at St John’s harbour

07:00 , Ariana Baio

Flags on board the main support ship for the Titan submersible could be seen at half-mast as it began to dock at St John’s harbour.

A Canadian national flag and a Mi’kmaq flag, which represents the North American people who inhabit the Maritime Provinces of Canada, were both at half-mast at either end of the vessel.

Watch: Moment OceanGate co-founder told debris from Titan submersible has been discovered

06:00 , Ariana Baio

Potential Titan passenger reveals OceanGate CEO assured him it was safe

05:00 , Ariana Baio

Jay Bloom, a Las Vegas investor, revealed in a Facebook post that he turned down seats on the Titan submersible trip, offered by OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, due to safety concerns.

In his post, Mr Bloom shared screenshots of messages he exchanged with Mr Rush months before the fatal trip in which he expressed safety concerns for himself and his son, Sean, who was supposed to join him on the excursion.

“I expressed safety concerns and Stockton told me: ‘While there’s obviously risk it’s way safer than flying in a helicopter or even scuba diving.’ I am sure he really believed what he was saying. But he was very wrong,” Mr Bloom wrote.

In text messages, Mr Bloom told Mr Rush that his son was concerned about “stupid” dangers like a giant squid or sperm whale attacking the submersible.

In response, Mr Rush assured Mr Bloom it was safe and due to the intense pressure at the depth of water they would be travelling, neither sperm whale nor giant squid would be able to reach them.

“There hasn’t been even an injury in 35 years in a non-military sub,” Mr Rush texted Mr Bloom.

Mr Bloom said he last saw Mr Rush in early March when the two went to the Titanic Exhibit at Luxor together.

Mr Bloom added: “Then, at lunch in the Luxor food court we talked about the dive, including safety. He was absolutely convinced that it was safer than crossing the street.”

An 1851 maritime law protected the Titanic’s owners in court. Could OceanGate use it too?

04:00 , Ariana Baio

A five-day search for OceanGate Expedition’s tourist submersible came to a grim conclusion on Thursday as officials confirmed the discovery of debris consistent with a “catastrophic implosion” presumed to have claimed the lives of all five passengers.

With recovery efforts to collect the debris underway, focus has turned to whether and how OceanGate could be held liable in court. Experts tell The Independent that one 172-year-old piece of legislation could prove pivotal for the company: the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851.

Sheila Flynn reports:

An 1851 maritime law protected Titanic owners in court. Could OceanGate use it too?

Why did the Titanic sub implode?

03:00 , Ariana Baio

In the days after OceanGate chief executive Stockton Rush and his four paying crew members went missing on their way to the wreck of the Titanic, experts had several theories as to their fate.

But what exactly caused the Titan to implode? While we don’t yet know the truth of what happened, we do know enough to have some idea of what might have sealed the sub’s doom.

Io Dodds reports:

Why did the Titanic sub implode?

Online gamblers made thousands in bets on Titanic search and rescue operation

02:00 , Ariana Baio

Online gamblers bet hundreds of thousands of dollars on whether the submarine that went missing on a recent expedition to the Titanic, in what online critics called a “dystopian” use of digital finance.

Since Wednesday, people wagered at least $300,000 on the fate of the vehicle using the crypto platform Polymarket, Mother Jones reports.

On the site, betters buy and sell shares on the outcomes of events using cryptocurrency, and can redeem their shares for $1 each if their guesses are correct.

Josh Marcus reports:

Online gamblers raked in thousands on bets against the Titanic sub crew’s survival

OceanGate CEO ‘wanted to be Captain Kirk'

01:00 , Ariana Baio

Stockton Rush, the co-founder of OceanGate, and one of the five submarine passengers who died on the ill-fated Titanic expedition, was seen as a thrill-seeker by those who knew him.

“We were frustrated astronauts,” Guillermo Sohnlein, another co-founder, told The New York Times.

After viewing the 2004 launch of SpaceShipOne, the first private effort to reach space, Rush told Smithsonian magazine that he decided he didn’t want to merely be a passenger on someone else’s expedition, but rather lead his own mission.

“I didn’t want to go up into space as a tourist,” he told the magazine. “I wanted to be Captain Kirk on the Enterprise.”

Timeline of how the deep-sea tragedy unfolded

Sunday 25 June 2023 00:00 , Ariana Baio

What happened to the Titanic submarine? A timeline of events

Watch: Barack Obama slams hypocrisy over interest in Titanic sub compared to migrant boat tragedy

Saturday 24 June 2023 23:30 , Ariana Baio

Voices: The Titanic submersible disaster was an accident waiting to happen

Saturday 24 June 2023 23:00 , Ariana Baio

“Whether the Titan is missing because of deficiencies in design and construction or because of mistakes made by its operator – Rush – may be lost to history if the submersible is never found. The lesson of the Titanic, however, is that it can be both. Had Captain Edward Smith reduced the ship’s speed, perhaps it could have navigated the icy waters better. Had the ship been equipped with enough lifeboats for passengers, or had fewer of the watertight compartments been breached, perhaps more lives could have been saved.”

Skylar Baker-Jordan writes:

The Titanic sub disaster was an accident waiting to happen | Opinion

Daughter of French pilot on Titanic sub says if he died he would be ‘where he loved’

Saturday 24 June 2023 22:30 , Ariana Baio

Sidonie Nargeolet, the daughter of Paul-Henri Nargeolet said she continued to hope they would be rescued but that she is comforted by the knowledge that her father is in the place he loved most.

“At times, I have a lot of hope, I am fine, I believe and have a lot of hope. But in others, hope goes away and it is hard to endure, and as more time goes by it gets harder,” she said.

Ms Nargeloet said she learnt about the accident on Monday, when she received a text message from her father’s spouse saying he should have been back at 6 pm on Sunday.

“I cried a lot,” she said. She had last seen her father just before Christmas last year in Andorra.

“He sent me a message a week before (getting in the submersible) telling me the weather was bad, so they hadn’t been able to go down, but that there was a great atmosphere,” she said. “I sent him a message on Sunday for Father’s Day but he didn’t reply.”

“I would prefer him (dying) at a place where he is very happy,” Ms Nargeolet said.

Authorities speaking with family of deceased on Polar Prince

Saturday 24 June 2023 22:00 , Ariana Baio

Authorities within the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said they have already begun speaking with people on board the Polar Prince, the vessel that helped launch the Titan submersible, including family members of those who died in the sub.

“I think anybody can imagine that it’s difficult, the circumstances they have been under for the last few days,” Kathy Fox, chair of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, said.

“And we have to understand that, that’s going to affect particularly the families who have lost loved ones.”

Canadian Transportation Safety Board launches investigation

Saturday 24 June 2023 21:00 , Ariana Baio

In addition to assisting the RCMP with their preliminary probe into the Titan submersible deaths, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said they would be launching their own investigation.

Kathy Fox, chair of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, told reports on Saturday (24 June) that they had begun gathering data from the Polar Prince, the surface ship to the Titan.

Ms Fox said the investigation would possibly take 18 months to two years.

“We obviously try to do them quicker, because we know that everybody wants answers – particularly the family,” Ms Fox said. “We need to take the time with respect to how far we will go.”

Ms Fox said they were conducting the inquiry to prevent accidents like this from happening again.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police will look into Titan deaths

Saturday 24 June 2023 20:38 , Ariana Baio

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) of Newfoundland and Labrador said a team of investigators will determine whether a criminal investigation is warranted.

Superintendent Kent Osmond said, “Such an investigation will proceed only if our examination of the circumstances indicate criminal, federal or provincial laws may possibly have been broken” in a press conference on Saturday (24 June).

Mr Osmond said investigators had already begun to look into the possibility of launching a formal investigation.

“Once a determination has been made as to whether or not a full investigation will be launched, we will provide an update at that time,” Mr Osmond said.

Safety investigators board Titan’s support ship after fatal implosion

Saturday 24 June 2023 20:30 , Ariana Baio

A team of investigators has boarded the main support ship of the Titan submersible after it returned to the harbour following the deep-sea vessel’s fatal implosion.

Flags on board the Polar Prince were at half-mast as it arrived at the port in St John’s in Newfoundland on Saturday, after four passengers and the pilot of Titan were killed in the incident near the wreckage of the Titanic.

Police and safety investigators could be seen on board the vessel after the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada announced it would be the subject of an investigation.

Discovery Channel host refused trip on Titanic submarine due to ‘safety concerns’ after test dive

Saturday 24 June 2023 20:00 , Ariana Baio

A veteran explorer and host of Expedition Unknown on Discovery Plus said he decided to pass on a chance to film on OceanGate’s Titan submersible over safety concerns.

Josh Gates tweeted on Wednesday that he had decided to walk away from an opportunity to film Titanic because the submersible “did not perform well” during a test dive.

A spokesperson for the mothership which launched the missing submersible defended OceanGate, saying it runs an “extremely safe operation” after questions were raised about safety. The submersible Titan is run by OceanGate.

Navy doctor reveals Titanic sub victims would have died instantly in ‘catastrophic implosion’

Saturday 24 June 2023 19:30 , Ariana Baio

A former Navy doctor has revealed what would have happened to the five people on board the missing Titan submersible in its final moments even as officials announced the vessel imploded.

Dale Molé, a former director of the US Navy for undersea medicine and radiation health, said they would have died instantly and painlessly by the force under the depth of the sea.

“It would have been so sudden, that they wouldn’t even have known that there was a problem, or what happened to them,” he told the Daily Mail.

“It’s like being here one minute, and then the switch is turned off. You’re alive one millisecond, and the next millisecond you’re dead,” he said.

Watch: Ships return to harbour as Titan submersible recovery operations begin to wind down

Saturday 24 June 2023 19:00 , Ariana Baio

Coast Guard admits ‘explosion’ heard when Titanic sub lost contact

Saturday 24 June 2023 18:30 , Ariana Baio

The US Coast Guard has admitted an “explosion” was heard in the vicinity of where the Titan submersible was when it lost contact with its support vessel.

The US Navy detected an “anomaly consistent with an implosion or explosion” after the tourist submarine lost contact one hour and 45 minutes into the descent to the Titanic wreckage on Sunday, the Coast Guard confirmed to The Independent.

The sound was “consistent” with the catastrophic implosion, which killed five men on board the Titan sub, including OceanGate Expeditions’ chief executive Stockton Rush.

No more similar sounds were heard throughout the four-day search and rescue mission, a Coast Guard spokesperson said.

Tara Cobham reports:

Coast Guard admits ‘explosion’ heard when Titanic sub lost contact

Sons of Hamish Harding pay tribute to their father

Saturday 24 June 2023 18:00 , Ariana Baio

The sons of British billionaire and explorer Hamish Harding have released statements about the death of their father, attributing their success in life to him.

“My dad was tenacious, hard-working businessman but most important he was the best father I could have ever asked for,” one of the statements, provided to The Independent by Action Aviation, said.

“He inspired me more than anyone will ever know, taught me things I’ll never forget, and he meant everything to me. Anyone who ever met my dad will praise his humourous personality, his sheer work ethic, and his constant generosity. My life will be a success if I’m even half the man he is,” the statement continued.

Mr Harding has two sons: Rory and Giles.

In the other statement, Mr Harding’s other son wrote: “My father was an avid adventurer, a loving father, family man and a determined and tireless businessman. In all these areas, he constantly sought to be the best man he could be and did nothing half-way. Constantly full of wisdom and life advice to bestow, he made my brother and I into the people we are today.”

Action Aviation did not clarify which statement came from which son.

President of Titanic society questions if trips to wreckage should end

Saturday 24 June 2023 17:30 , Ariana Baio

In a statement published on Facebook, Charles Haas, president of the Titanic International Society, an organisation set up in 1989 to preserve the history of the Titanic, questioned whether visits to the historic site 3,800m below the surface should continue.

He said: “It is time to consider seriously whether human trips to Titanic’s wreck should end in the name of safety, with relatively little remaining to be learned from or about the wreck.

“Crewed submersibles’ roles in surveying the wreck now can be assigned to autonomous underwater vehicles, like those that mapped the ship and its debris field in high-resolution, 3-D detail last summer.

“The world joins us in expressing our profound sadness and heartbreak about this tragic, avoidable event.”

A British billionaire, father and son and renowned diver: Who was on the Titanic submarine?

Saturday 24 June 2023 17:00 , Ariana Baio

The pilot and four passengers of the Titan submersible that vanished during a mission to explore the Titanic wreckage are believed to be dead, authorities say.

British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, UK citizens Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood, French national Paul-Henri Nargeolet and OceanGate Expeditions chief executive Stockton Rush had “sadly been lost”, the company announced.

The Independent reports:

Who was on the missing Titanic submarine?

Woman who visited Titanic shipwreck with OceanGate describes what it was like

Saturday 24 June 2023 16:30 , Ariana Baio

Renata Rojas had been obsessed with the Titanic for more than half of her life when she looked out the window of a submersible, 4,000 metres under the North Atlantic, and saw the doomed ship’s spectre appear hauntingly from the depths.

She thought she’d cry – but she was far too busy.

Ms Rojas, 50, was one of only five people on that submersible, part of the 2022 OceanGate Titanic Expedition to the wreck in July. Accompanied by a pilot and a research scientist, she and two other “mission specialists,” civilians who could pay a six-figure price for the trip, embarked upon the meticulously-planned, deep-sea exploration.

Sheila Flynn reports:

Woman who visited Titanic shipwreck with OceanGate describes what it was like

Family of Shahzada and Suleman Dawood calls loss ‘devastating’

Saturday 24 June 2023 16:00 , Ariana Baio

Samad Dawood, the brother of Shahzada Dawood and uncle of Suleman Dawood, spoke about the devastating loss the Dawood family is facing after Shahzada and Suleman were killed on the Titan submersible.

“This is beyond what you could ever imagine in terms of the kind of hardships and struggle that we’ve had. I think what we’ve seen is enormous tragedy and devastation and a lot of emotions,” Samad told ABC News in an interview.

Samad called his brother an ‘inspiration’ saying he was somebody “who had love for the world” and wanted to experience everything the world had to offer.

Samad told ABC News that his 19-year-old nephew shared a similar love of adventure with his father.

“He was so filled with humbleness and gratitude,” Samad said. “I think it’s sad but also amazing that... his death also brought the world together, and I thank him for it.”

Family of Hamish Harding say instant death from implosion was ‘best outcome’

Saturday 24 June 2023 15:30 , Ariana Baio

Kathleen Cosnett, the cousin of explorer Hamish Harding, said “knowing nothing about it” was the best way to go.

In a tribute on Friday, Ms Cosnett said her cousin, “a daredevil” who had been “a real apple of his parents’ eye”, died doing what he loved – undertaking an adventure.

“Now we know that it likely imploded on the descent, it is really the best outcome. They would have not known it was coming,” she told The Times.

“In a way, it is the best way to go, as he didn’t know it was happening. It’s really the best way to go isn’t it, being killed and knowing nothing about it?”

Ms Cosnett, from Twyford, Berkshire, told Sky News: “He’s a great adventurer, going up as high as he can, to space even, where he did go for 10 minutes last year, with other people. So, to me, it wasn’t too much of a surprise… This was just a sad disaster, perhaps waiting to happen.”

Watch: Relatives of Titanic victims criticise dark tourism of submersible tours

Saturday 24 June 2023 15:00 , Ariana Baio

National Transportation Safety Board will assist Coast Guard investigation

Saturday 24 June 2023 14:35 , Ariana Baio

The US National Transportation Safety Board said they would assist the US Coast Guard in their investigation into the Titan submersible accident in a tweet.

“The U.S. Coast Guard has declared the loss of the Titan submersible to be a major marine casualty and will lead the investigation. The NTSB has joined the investigation and will contribute to their efforts. The USCG is handling all media inquiries related to this investigation,” They wrote.

Where is the Titanic wreck – and how far down is it?

Saturday 24 June 2023 14:00 , Ariana Baio

The RMS Titanic’s final resting spot is approximately 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada in the North Atlantic Ocean. It sank in 1912, killing approximately 1,500 people on board.

Its coordinates are 41º43’32”N, 49º56’49”W.

The ship famously began to sink after it struck an iceberg just before midnight during its maiden voyage. The collision caused a dent in the ship’s submerged hull, which then caused its seams to buckle. Five of its interior compartments flooded, dooming the ship.

Where is the Titanic wreck – and how far down is it?

Titan’s main support ship returns to harbour

Saturday 24 June 2023 13:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The main support ship of the Titan submersible has returned to a Canadian harbour following the deep-sea vessel’s fatal implosion.

Flags on board the Polar Prince were at half-mast as it arrived at the port in St John’s in Newfoundland on Saturday morning after four passengers and the pilot of Titan were killed in the incident.

The support ship is set to be the subject of a safety investigation from the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada.

Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) boats had already started to return to St John’s harbour on Friday as the recovery operation began to wind down.

British adventurer Hamish Harding and father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood were killed on board the Titan submersible, alongside the chief executive of the company responsible for the vessel, Stockton Rush, and French national Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

In a statement issued before ships began to return to the port, the CCG said the search and rescue operation had concluded.

The CCG confirmed one its vessels would remain on the scene and would “provide assistance and support to the recovery and salvage operations as requested by Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Boston.”

The TSB said a team of investigators had been deployed to St John’s to “gather information, conduct interviews and assess the occurrence”.

In its own statement, the safety body said the investigation would be carried out “in accordance with the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act and international agreements”.

The TSB will not determine civil or criminal liability and conducts investigations for “the advancement of transportation safety”.

Watch: Titanic director James Cameron felt ‘in his bones’ tourist submersible was lost

Saturday 24 June 2023 13:00 , Ariana Baio

How much did Titan search cost? US Coast Guard's bill alone will be in the millions, experts say

Saturday 24 June 2023 12:30 , Namita Singh

The cost of the unprecedented search for the missing Titan submersible will easily stretch into the millions of dollars, experts said Friday.

The massive international effort by aircraft, surface ships and deep-sea robots began Sunday when the Titan was reported missing. Searchers raced against a 96-hour clock in the desperate hope to find and rescue the vessel’s occupants before their oxygen supply ran out.

But all hope was extinguished Thursday when officials announced the submersible had suffered a catastrophic implosion, killing all five aboard.

A scaled-back search remained in place Friday as the robots — remotely operated vehicles, known as ROVs — continued to scan the sea floor for evidence that might shed light on what occurred in the deep waters of the North Atlantic.

The search area spanned thousands of miles — twice the size of Connecticut and in waters 2 1/2 miles (4 kilometers) deep — with agencies such as the US Coast Guard, the Canadian Coast Guard, US Navy and other agencies and private entities.

There’s no other comparable ocean search, especially with so many countries and even commercial enterprises being involved in recent times, said Norman Polmar, a naval historian, analyst and author based in Virginia.

The aircraft, alone, are expensive to operate, and the Government Accountability Office has put the hourly cost at tens of thousands of dollars. Turboprop P-3 Orion and jet-powered P-8 Poseidon sub hunters, along with C-130 Hercules, were all utilized in the search.

Some agencies can seek reimbursements. But the US Coast Guard — whose bill alone will hit the millions of dollars — is generally prohibited by federal law from collecting reimbursement pertaining to any search or rescue service, said Stephen Koerting, an attorney in Maine who specializes in maritime law.

“The Coast Guard, as a matter of both law and policy, does not seek to recover the costs associated with search and rescue from the recipients of those services,” the Coast Guard said Friday in a statement.

A scaled-back search remained in place Friday as the robots — remotely operated vehicles, known as ROVs — continued to scan the sea floor for evidence that might shed light on what occurred in the deep waters of the North Atlantic.

What the Titanic submersible saga and the Greek migrant shipwreck say about our reactions to tragedy

Saturday 24 June 2023 11:30 , Namita Singh

Across the span of nearly a week, the saga of a lost submersible that had gone into the depths of the ocean to see the Titanic wreckage rippled across the national and global conversation — culminating in news that the craft had imploded and its five occupants were dead.

But a far bigger disaster days earlier, the wrecking of a ship off Greece filled with migrants that killed at least 80 people and left a horrifying 500 missing, did not become a moment-by-moment worldwide focus in anywhere near the same way.

One grabbed unrelenting, moment-to-moment attention. One was watched and discussed as another sad, but routine, news story.What makes these two events at sea different in how they were received? Viewed next to each other, what do they say about human reactions to tragic news? And why did the saga of the submersible grab so much attention?

Report:

What the submersible saga and the Greek migrant shipwreck say about our reactions to tragedy

Ross Kemp turned down Titanic sub trip over safety fears

Saturday 24 June 2023 09:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

British documentary-maker Ross Kemp turned down a trip to see the Titanic on an OceanGate submersible for a television show.

The former EastEnders star, 58, had been keen to take part in the mission last year but it was deemed to be unsafe.

An expert production company carried out checks and decided it would be too risky to let anybody board the Titan submersible to view the shipwreck on the seafloor of the North Atlantic, off the coast of Canada.

Kemp’s agent, InterTalent chairman Professor Jonathan Shalit, said they pulled out of using the OceanGate craft because it was deemed to be unsafe “on every level”.

Prof Shalit told the PA news agency: “The production company, who are well known and renowned, looked into the sub and decided it was unsafe on every level and weren’t prepared to use it.

“We were told ‘it is unsafe, we are not going’ - that was a year ago.

“It is deeply sad for the families who have suffered such a terrible loss.

“I am relieved that Ross did not participate but I am obviously reassured by the professionalism of those companies we were working with that they didn’t suggest that he go on the submarine.

“The lesson to be learnt is do your checks thoroughly. By good fortune for us the checks had been done thoroughly.”

Whistleblowers warned OceanGate safety issues could prove ‘catastrophic’

Saturday 24 June 2023 09:00 , Ariana Baio

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.

But before boarding submarines from OceanGate, travellers were warned in a contract that “it has not been approved or certified by any regulatory body, and could result in physical injury, disability, motion trauma, or death”.

The disclaimer is part of a long list of concerns regarding the company’s safety record.

In 2018, the company fired David Lochridge, OceanGate’s director of marine operations. They claimed he breached his contract and shared confidential information about its designs with two individuals as well as with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

However, Mr Lochridge alleged in a wrongful termination suit obtained by The New Republic that he was fired for blowing the whistle about concerning safety issues.

According to the suit, Mr Lochridge delivered highly critical updates regarding the ship’s quality control to senior management and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, pointing to alleged issues such as “visible flaws” in the ship’s carbon fibre hull, “prevalent flaws” in a scale model, flammable materials onboard, a viewing window not rated for the Titanic’s depth, and key safety documents that were not shared with him.

“Now is the time to properly address items that may pose a safety risk to personnel,” he allegedly said at one point. “Verbal communication of the key items I have addressed in my attached document have been dismissed on several occasions, so I feel now I must make this report so there is an official record in place.”

He claimed, according to filings obtained by the magazine, that he was fired when he said he wouldn’t authorise manned testing of the sub without scans of the craft’s hull.

The Independent has contacted OceanGate for comment.

Previous passengers recall ill-fated Titan: 'I 100% knew this was going to happen'

Saturday 24 June 2023 08:30 , Namita Singh

Talk to someone who rode on the Titan submersible, and they’re likely to mention a technological glitch: the propulsion system failed or communications with people on the surface cut out. Maybe there were problems balancing weights on board.

They are also likely to mention Stockton Rush, the OceanGate Expeditions CEO who died on the fatal trip this week. He has been described by past passengers as both a meticulous planner and an overconfident pioneer.

In the wake of the Titan’s fatal implosion near the Titanic shipwreck on Sunday, some people who embarked on the company’s deep-sea expeditions described experiences that foreshadowed the tragedy and look back on their decision to dive as “a bit naive.”

But others expressed confidence and said that they felt they were “in good hands” nearly 13,000 feet (3,962 meters) below the ocean’s surface.

Report:

Previous passengers recall ill-fated Titan: 'I 100% knew this was going to happen'

Where the Titan debris field was found

Saturday 24 June 2023 08:00 , Ariana Baio

The hunt for the missing OceanGate Expeditions submersible the Titan ended in tragedy on Thursday when, hours after the craft exhausted its 96-hour oxygen supply, the US Coast Guard revealed that parts of the vessel had been found on the seabed.

A deep sea remotely-operated vehicle (ROV), equipped with cameras and sonar and deployed from the Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic, discovered debris from the vessel roughly 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic.

Emails show submersible chief executive dismissed safety concerns over vessel

Saturday 24 June 2023 07:00 , Ariana Baio

The BBC reported Stockton Rush, who was one of the five people who died in Titan’s catastrophic implosion, had previously written that he had heard “baseless cries” of “you are going to kill someone” – which he believed were a “serious personal insult”.

His words could be seen in emails between Mr Rush and deep sea exploration specialist Rob McCallum – in which he also said he was “tired of industry players who try to use a safety argument to stop innovation”.

The emails, seen by the BBC, show Mr McCallum told OceanGate’s chief executive that he was “mirroring that famous cry” of the Titanic’s builders: “She is unsinkable.”

One of his emails read: “I implore you to take every care in your testing and sea trials and to be very, very conservative.

“As much as I appreciate entrepreneurship and innovation, you are potentially putting an entire industry at risk.”

Bodies of missing Titanic sub passengers may never be recovered, Coast Guard says

Saturday 24 June 2023 05:00 , Ariana Baio

The bodies of the five passengers aboard the Titanic sub that was lost in a “catastrophic implosion” near the wreck may never be recovered from the floor of the Atlantic, says the US Coast Guard.

“This is an incredibly unforgiving environment out there on the sea floor. The debris is consistent with the catastrophic implosion of the vessel. We will continue to work and search the area down there but I don’t have an answer on prospects at this time,” said Rear Admiral John Mauger of the US Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard says that ROVs will remain in place but that it will begin to pull back equipment over the next 48 hours.

The Rear Admiral said that sonar buoys had been in the water for the past 72 hours and that they had not picked up any evidence of an implosion, suggesting that it had happened early on in the dive.

Graeme Massie reports:

Bodies of missing Titanic sub passengers may never be recovered, Coast Guard says

OceanGate searched for new submarine pilot while crew was missing on Titanic mission

Saturday 24 June 2023 03:30 , Josh Marcus

OceanGate was reportedly searching for a new submarine pilot at the same time as a five-person crew on one of its vehicles was missing during its mission to the Titanic wreck.

A posting obtained by the Mirror, which allegedly ran between Monday and Thursday, sought a “Submersible Pilot/Marine Technician to join the team ... looking for someone to “manage and operate our fleet of manned submersibles and support vessels.”