Operator of Titanic sub that imploded suspends all expeditions

U.S.-based OceanGate said on its website that it had "suspended all exploration and commercial operations" two weeks after the tragedy

Updated - July 07, 2023 08:08 am IST

Published - July 07, 2023 02:29 am IST - Washington

This undated image provided by OceanGate Expeditions in June 2021 shows the company’s Titan submersible. OceanGate, the company that owned the submersible that fatally imploded on its way to explore the wreck of the Titanic said Thursday, July 6, 2023 it has suspended operations.

This undated image provided by OceanGate Expeditions in June 2021 shows the company’s Titan submersible. OceanGate, the company that owned the submersible that fatally imploded on its way to explore the wreck of the Titanic said Thursday, July 6, 2023 it has suspended operations. | Photo Credit: AP

The company that operated the sub which imploded during a dive to the Titanic wreck, killing all five people aboard, said on July 6 it had halted all activities indefinitely.

The Titan sub was reported missing on June 18 and the U.S. Coast Guard said on June 22 that the vessel had suffered a catastrophic implosion, ending a rescue operation that had captivated the world.

U.S.-based OceanGate said on its website that it had "suspended all exploration and commercial operations" two weeks after the tragedy, in which company CEO Stockton Rush was among the dead.

Also on board were British explorer Hamish Harding, French submarine expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Pakistani-British tycoon Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman.

Experts last week recovered presumed human remains from the sub wreckage that was found on the ocean floor and taken to the port of St. John's, Newfoundland in east Canada.

The victims are presumed to have died instantly when the Titan, about the size of an SUV car, imploded under the crushing pressure of the North Atlantic at a depth of more than two miles (nearly four kilometers).

A debris field was found 1,600 feet (500 metres) from the bow of the Titanic, which sits 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland.

OceanGate Expeditions charged $250,000 for a seat on its sub, but previous concerns over its safety policies came to light after the implosion.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian authorities have launched probes into the cause of the tragedy, which occurred after the Titan lost contact about an hour and 45 minutes after plunging into the ocean.

The Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in 1912 during its maiden voyage from England to New York with 2,224 passengers and crew on board. More than 1,500 people died.

It was found in 1985 and has become a lure for nautical experts and underwater tourists.

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