Missing Titan sub likely destroyed in implosion, no survivors
- Reference: 1687465499
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/06/22/oceangate_titanic_titan_sub_implosion/
- Source link:
US Coast Guard officials said they found the nose cone, front end bell of the pressure hull, and other bits from the craft that searchers believe is "consistent with a catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber."
According to USCG Rear Admiral John Mauger, a field of debris was found approximately 500 metres (1,600 feet) from the bow of the Titanic, where the submersible was headed before it [1]lost contact with its control craft on Sunday. The USCG said it wasn't sure whether the sub imploded as or sometime after contact was lost, but said the debris field and location of the wreck are "consistent with implosion in the water column" where the craft last shared its position.
We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew
"We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost," OceanGate, the company operating the submersible, said in a statement just now, referring to those onboard.
"These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world's oceans. Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew," OceanGate added.
[2]
Rear Admiral Mauger said his role in the investigation is over, and that while some personnel and vessels would be returning to port, other ships will stay to map the debris field and continue investigating the incident.
That sinking feeling
Since the search for the sub began in earnest on Monday, questions have been raised about whether the Titan should have been in the water at all.
One of the first major concerns that came to light, aside from the [3]questionable design of the Titan, was a 2018 wrongful termination lawsuit filed against OceanGate by its former director of marine operations David Lochridge.
[4]
[5]
Lochridge [6]alleged in 2018 that he was fired after raising questions about the Titan's safety, specifically regarding safety of the craft's carbon fiber hull and its viewport, a window that Lochridge claimed was certified to just 1,300 metres (4,300 feet) - far less than the 4,000-metre (13,000-foot) depth of the wreck of the Titanic. The Titan was supposed to go down to the stricken luxury steamship to give tourists views of the ocean liner, which lies about 560 kilometres (350 miles) off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
Time running out for crew of missing Titanic tourist submarine [7]EARLIER
As for the experimental hull of the craft, made of titanium as well as carbon fiber, Lochridge expressed [8]concerns [PDF] that it wasn't being tested thoroughly enough to ensure there wasn't any microscopic damage that could cause a catastrophic incident – such as, say, an implosion, for example.
"Paying passengers would not be aware, and would not be informed, of this experimental design, the lack of non-destructive testing of the hull, or that hazardous flammable materials were being used within the submersible," Lochridge alleged. The lawsuit was settled out of court the same year it was filed.
OceanGate was also [9]warned by trade organization the Marine Technology Society in 2018 of the group's "unanimous concern" that Titan's design and experimental approach to underwater exploration "could result in negative outcomes (from minor to catastrophic) that would have serious consequences for everyone in the industry."
[10]
The society made those observations in a letter to OceanGate, a [11]copy [PDF] of which was obtained by the New York Times.
"Your marketing material advertises that the Titan design will meet or exceed … safety standards, yet it does not appear that OceanGate has the intention of following … class rules," the society added. "We recommend that at a minimum you institute a prototype testing program that is reviewed and witnessed," MTS urged.
It's unclear if such tests were ever performed. We should also say that the design concerns flagged up thus far may not relate to the sub that eventually went down to the Titanic at the weekend and its subsequent fate.
[12]
OceanGate said the Titan had undergone several test dives, entered service in 2021, and completed ten dives in 2022. Passengers were typically charged about $250,000 a ride.
I think I can do this just as safely by breaking the rules
If the craft did implode, it would have happened instantaneously, killing the crew within a fraction of a second given the pressures involved. There was previously some small hope that the sub could be found and the passengers rescued before the onboard supplies of air ran out. Escaping the craft would have been a mission in itself: the thing was bolted shut from the outside.
On board was billionaire tycoon Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman; OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush; Titanic explorer Paul–Henry Nargeolet, who spent 20 years in the French Navy before his retirement; and record-breaking explorer Hamish Harding.
Rush was piloting the Titan for what turned out to be its final fateful journey. He spoke to CBS News correspondent David Pogue on the US broadcaster's Unsung Science podcast late last year, and at the time expressed [13]disdain for safety regulations.
"You know, at some point, safety just is pure waste. I mean, if you just want to be safe, don't get out of bed. Don't get in your car. Don't do anything," Rush told Pogue. "At some point, you're going to take some risk, and it really is a risk/reward question. I think I can do this just as safely by breaking the rules." ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/20/missing_titanic_submarine/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZJTEfuigin6KYsQyEUidvwAAAQo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dka29FSZac
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZJTEfuigin6KYsQyEUidvwAAAQo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZJTEfuigin6KYsQyEUidvwAAAQo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/titanic-submarine-oceangate-hull-safety-lawsuit/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/20/missing_titanic_submarine/
[8] https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.wawd.262471/gov.uscourts.wawd.262471.7.0.pdf
[9] https://www.forbes.com/sites/katherinehamilton/2023/06/20/oceangate-was-reportedly-warned-titanic-sub-didnt-meet-industry-standards-5-years-ago-posing-catastrophic-threat/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZJTEfuigin6KYsQyEUidvwAAAQo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/marine-technology-society-committee-2018-letter-to-ocean-gate/eddb63615a7b3764/full.pdf
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZJTEfuigin6KYsQyEUidvwAAAQo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://unsungscience.com/news/back-to-titanic-part-1/
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: A fitting epitaph
If it really is a risk/reward question, he certainly had his answer. For a small fraction of a second.
Re: A fitting epitaph
He certainly made a contribution that will be remembered, just not for the reasons that he hoped :
“I’d like to be remembered as an innovator. I think it was Gen McArthur that said, ‘You’re remembered for the rules you break.’ I have broken some rules to make this. I think I’ve broken them with logic and good engineering behind me. The carbon fibre and titanium there is a rule that you don’t do that. Well, I did,” Stockton said
Re: A fitting epitaph
Rush by name,
Rush by action,
Rush to, death
History will repeat
Re: A fitting epitaph
'safety is pure waste' should be the only thing on his tombstone.
"craft's carbon fiber hull"
Surprised by that, I imagined it to be made of very thick high grade steel. Sounds like they haven't been checking it regularly for stress damage either. Took one chance/dive too many. The pressure at ~2 miles down must be colossal.
Re: "craft's carbon fiber hull"
I wonder if they'd ever heard of the de Havilland Comet...
Hubris: https://youtu.be/4dka29FSZac
Two things that struck me. Firstly, it's billionaires paying $250,000 each to look at the grave of 1,200 people that died in a tragedy.
Secondly, the amount of effort to rescue 5 people who chose to put themselves in danger for fun, versus so few shits given about the 600 people that drowned in the Mediterranean trying to get to a better life.
Yeah, there should have been no rescue efforts at all - seriously. Those are just the government doing unnecessary safety meddling in the industry with taxpayer money. 'Pure waste!' as he put it.
But I'm glad they at least sent down a remote drone or two at the site so we actually know what happened to these fools.
Titanium and compression cycles
According to the India Times (used a reference because it is not pay walled, I don't know where they stole it from) --
Setting it apart from typical submersibles, the Titan's passenger hull is a combination of carbon fiber and titanium. This innovative blend renders the craft significantly lighter than those primarily made of steel or titanium, a lightweight and strong metal.
An interesting undated Quora Post with author listed as Olan Prentice, (US Veteran,Wall Street SVP, Author, Naval Warfare Specialist), writing about the US response to the Titanium hulled Russian submarine model "Alfa" in the 70's-80's --
Anyway, some tests were performed to mimic the behavior of the Alfa’s hull at depth. What they found was that the remarkable, ground breaking titanium hull had a huge drawback. Where American subs used high quality steel and could compress and recover due to the elasticity of the steel…the titanium hulls compressed and did not recover to the same degree. So, this high tech, super fast sub had a very limited number of dives it could perform before the hull would compress to the point of compromise. The US decided to stick with the steel design and that has proven to be a winning strategy.
'Debris Field'
Can we just call it a 'Hubris Field'?
Well I'm glad we at least have some closure on this and know what happened to those idiots. Or at least the one titanic (har) idiot and his four victims.
Shoddy risk-management
An experimental hull design in 400 atmospheres of pressure.
A “preventative” control (deep analysis of the carbon fibre) was dismissed, along with its proposer.
A “detective” control (acoustic monitoring and alerting) was somehow thought to suffice.
What use is it to get an alert immediately before an implosion, when there is no way of doing anything about it?
Lost for words…
This event will be cited in risk management training for years to come.
My sympathies to those who have lost these friends and loved ones.
AP news
At one point, Rush took a one-third scale prototype of the Titan’s hull to a lab at the University of Washington where he could test it under extreme pressure to see how much it could stand. The testing could only be done at night, with other people gone, and when the hull finally imploded it shook the building and blew out the lab’s pressure sensors, which Rush had to replace, he said.
But, the test validated OceanGate’s approach to detect flaws in the hull by using sensitive acoustic monitoring that could detect crackles and pops as it strained under pressure, Rush said. The Titan has a 5-inch-thick (12.7-centimeter-thick) carbon-fiber hull designed to descend 4,000 meters.
Not everyone agreed with that approach. David Lochridge, OceanGate’s director of marine operations, wrote in a 2018 lawsuit that it could subject passengers to “potential extreme danger.”
“This type of acoustic analysis would only show when a component is about to fail — often milliseconds before an implosion — and would not detect any existing flaws prior to putting pressure onto the hull,” his wrongful termination claim said.
However, the company said Lochridge “is not an engineer and was not hired or asked to perform engineering services on the Titan.”
Rush described at the Seattle tech conference the unnerving experience of taking a prototype down to 4,000 meters, only to have it prove unsound via acoustic monitoring. After a second attempt the company scrapped the prototype constructed by a marine manufacturer and built another with an aerospace supplier.
Re: AP news
Even worse (?), the front window was only designed for 1300 meters. The Titanic is at 4000 meters. The company that made the window offered to make them one specced for 4000 meters, but Rush told them to sod off.
I am truly morbidly curious whether the hull or the window failed first.
Re: AP news
The El Reg article says the nose cone (& tail) has been found, so my £0.02 is on it being the main titaniium/carbon fibre body that failed.
Every death at sea is a tragedy, but I can't help comparing this to the probably more than 500 unnamed/unknown ones who ended up at a similar depth in the Med last week.
And the amount of attention the media paid to each story.
"These men were true explorers "
Weird eupheism for "rich guys who had nothing better to do than waste obscene amounts of money on dangerous vanity trips, with no exploration value whatsoever". Not for mankind anyway.
A fitting epitaph
"I think I can do this just as safely by breaking the rules."
Why do I think this quote is going to see a lot of reuse for years to come?