Titan Sub's Final Messages: A Glimpse Before the Catastrophe

 Moments Before Disaster: The Titan Sub's Final Transmission

In one of the final messages from the ill-fated Titan submersible, the five-person crew reported "all good here" before the vessel tragically imploded, resulting in the loss of all lives aboard, as revealed in a recent hearing.

According to US Coast Guard investigators, this message was among the last exchanges between the Titan and its surface support ship before all communication ceased. For the first time during the hearing, an image captured by a remotely operated vehicle was presented, showing the Titan's tail cone resting on the ocean floor after the implosion.

The submersible had been just under two hours into its dive toward the wreck of the Titanic when the catastrophic event occurred in June 2023.

On Monday, Coast Guard officials launched a two-week investigation aimed at uncovering the details of the Titan submersible disaster and providing recommendations to prevent future tragedies.

During the inquiry, investigators shared a recreation of Titan's final journey, including text exchanges between the sub and its support vessel, the Polar Prince. The dive began at 09:17 local time, with support staff asking about Titan’s depth, weight, and whether it could still see the mother ship on its onboard display. Communication was intermittent, but roughly an hour into the descent, Titan sent the message: "all good here."

The sub's last message, sent at 10:47 local time from a depth of 3,346 meters, reported that it had dropped two weights. After that, all contact was lost.

The investigation also highlighted critical safety concerns about the Titan. Officials noted that the submersible’s hull had never undergone third-party testing and had been exposed to the elements during storage. Additionally, they revealed a history of serious issues during previous expeditions. In 2021 and 2022, the sub experienced 118 equipment problems over the course of 13 dives to the Titanic wreck. These included the front dome detaching during recovery, thruster failures at 3,500 meters, and, on one occasion, the batteries dying, leaving passengers trapped for 27 hours.

OceanGate, the company behind the Titan, has faced scrutiny over its design decisions, safety practices, and adherence to regulations.

Tony Nissen, the former engineering director at OceanGate, described the evidence he reviewed as both "disturbing... professionally and personally." Nissen claimed that Stockton Rush, OceanGate’s late CEO who was aboard the Titan, held ultimate authority over most engineering decisions and was notoriously difficult to collaborate with.

"Stockton would always push for what he wanted, and even though his stance could change from day to day, he refused to yield," Nissen remarked. "Most people would eventually give in to him—it was like death by a thousand cuts."

Following the tragic incident, OceanGate suspended all exploration and commercial operations. The company, which no longer employs any full-time staff, confirmed that it would be represented by a lawyer during the inquiry.

This week marked the beginning of the first public phase in a 15-month investigation that has left many questions unanswered. The Titan disaster has sparked ongoing debates around the safety and regulation of private undersea exploration.

The Coast Guard's Marine Board of Investigations (MBI), the highest level of inquiry into US maritime casualties, is set to hear testimony from up to 10 former OceanGate employees, including co-founder Guillermo Sohnlein, as well as experts in marine safety and undersea exploration.

Jason Neubauer, chairman of the MBI, emphasized the rarity of such inquiries, stating that "out of thousands of investigations conducted, less than one rises to this level." Neubauer expressed hope that the hearing would "shed light on the cause of the tragedy and prevent future incidents."

The board, composed of top officials from the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), has the authority to recommend civil penalties or even criminal referrals to the US Department of Justice.

A massive search operation, involving four governments, was launched after Titan lost contact with its mother ship, the Polar Prince, on the morning of June 18, 2023. Sadly, the sub never resurfaced. Among those on board were Stockton Rush, British explorer Hamish Harding, renowned French diver Paul Henri Nargeolet, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, and his 19-year-old son, Suleman.