What is a catastrophic implosion that killed 5 people onboard Titanic submersible?
The missing OceanGate's vessel, Titan which had gone missing in the Atlantic Ocean has been found in pieces with its occupants confirmed dead by the U.S Coast Guard. Photo: OceanGate
The OceanGate submersible vessel, Titan, that had 5 people onboard and had gone missing on June 18, 2023 during its voyage to the wreckage of the Titanic ship in the Atlantic Ocean was recovered in pieces by the US Coast Guard on Thursday afternoon.
The Titan was equipped with 96 hours of oxygen, which made Thursday the last day for relocating it and theoretically saving the occupants inside.
All the five occupants inside the vessel, which included OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, were confirmed dead.
“On behalf of the US Coast Guard and the entire unified command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families,” Rear Admiral John Mauger of the US Coast Guard said in a press conference.
The vessel had lost contact with its support ship less than two hours into its voyage and rescue operations were in full swing in the past four days, to trace it.
What has been found
According to the US Coast Guard, five major pieces of the Titan’s vessel have been found.
They include part of the pressure chamber, the front-end bell and the aft-bell. John Mauger said that the debris “is consistent with a catastrophic implosion in the vessel”.
He said that the catastrophic implosion might have happened with an incredible force and speed, given the crushing water pressure on the floor of the ocean.
What is a catastrophic implosion?
- A catastrophic implosion is a sudden and violent collapse of an object due to an overwhelming inward force. It can occur in submersible and underwater vessels, when the hull fails, or is damaged, causing the vessel to be crushed by the immense water pressure.
According to Aileen Maria Marty, a formal naval officer, and professor at Florida International University, a catastrophic implosion is quick, taking place within a fraction of a millisecond.
"The entire thing would have collapsed before the individuals inside would even realise that there was a problem," Aileen told CNN.
“Ultimately, in the many ways in which we can pass, that’s painless,” he added.
It’s not clear when the implosion occurred. If we presume it happened near the debris of the Titanic, then here the atmospheric pressure would be 5,600 pounds per square inch of pressure; several hundred times the pressure we experience on the Earth’s surface.
The wreckage of the Titanic sits at 12,500 feet (4,000 metres) below the seal level.
Banging sounds
There was a glimmer of hope on Wednesday afternoon (June 21) as banging noises were detected underwater by maritime surveillance. US Navy experts tried to analyse the sound for signs that they thought could be attempts by the Titan’s passengers to signal their location.
However, the search teams could not locate the source of these sounds.
By Thursday afternoon, the authorities had confirmed that the submersible vessel had imploded and that there was no connection between the banging noises and the place in the ocean where the debris was found.
Besides OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, the vessel had four other occupants inside: British explorer Hamish Harding (58), French maritime expert Paul Henri Nargeolet (77), British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood (48) and his son Suleman Dawood (19), a university student.
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