Titanic sub operator OceanGate suspends expeditions after deadly implosion

This undated image courtesy of OceanGate Expeditions, shows their Titan submersible launching from a platform. Picture: Reuters

This undated image courtesy of OceanGate Expeditions, shows their Titan submersible launching from a platform. Picture: Reuters

Published Jul 7, 2023

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OceanGate, the US-based company that managed the tourist submersible that imploded during a dive to the wreck of the Titanic, has suspended all exploration and commercial operations, its website showed on Thursday.

The company did not elaborate beyond a red banner at the top of its website: "OceanGate has suspended all exploration and commercial operations."

OceanGate had planned two expeditions to the century-old Titanic ruins, located in a remote corner of the North Atlantic, for June 2024, its website showed.

US and Canadian authorities are investigating the cause of the June undersea implosion, which killed all five people aboard and raised questions about the unregulated nature of such expeditions.

The US Coast Guard last week recovered presumed human remains and debris from the submersible, known as the Titan, after searching the ocean floor.

On board were British explorer Hamish Harding, French submarine expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani-British tycoon Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, and Stockton Rush, CEO of the sub's operator OceanGate Expeditions.

AFP reported that they presumably died instantly when the Titan sub, about the size of an SUV car, imploded under the crushing pressure of the North Atlantic.

Examination of the debris is expected to shed more light on the cause of the implosion.

The Titan lost contact with its support vessel during its descent on June 18. Its remains were found four days later, littering the seabed about 1 600 feet (488 meters) from the bow of the Titanic wreck.