The U.S. Coast Guard has released footage documenting the final moments of OceanGate’s Titan submersible, capturing the instant the vessel was lost during its descent to the Titanic wreck site.
The video, presented as evidence to the USCG Marine Board of Investigation, shows Wendy Rush and Gary Foss monitoring communications aboard the support vessel Polar Prince on June 18, 2023. A distinct sound, later identified as the submersible’s implosion, was recorded approximately 90 minutes into the descent when the vessel reached a depth of about 3,300 meters.
The footage reveals a critical moment when Mrs. Rush, who served as a director of OceanGate alongside her husband, heard what she described as a “bang.”
According to BBC, shortly after she received a misleading text message indicating the sub had dropped two weights, suggesting normal operations. However, investigators determined the noise was actually the sound of the catastrophic implosion, with the delayed text message having been sent moments before the vessel’s failure.
The incident claimed the lives of five people, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and four customers.
Investigations so far have shown that OceanGate had received multiple warnings about safety concerns, particularly regarding the Titan’s experimental carbon fiber hull, which experts believed could fail under repeated deep-sea pressures. The disaster has led to intense scrutiny of OceanGate’s safety practices and the risks of deep-sea tourism, prompting experts to caution against unregulated expeditions in extreme environments.
The USCG’s two-year investigation findings are being featured in a BBC documentary titled “Implosion: The Titanic Sub Disaster.”
Read Next: North Atlantic Buoy Picks Up Sound of Titan Submersible’s Fatal Implosion
Subscribe for Daily Maritime Insights
Sign up for gCaptain’s newsletter and never miss an update
— trusted by our 109,043 members