A OceanGate Expeditions image of their Titan submersible during a descent. Photo: AFP / OceanGate Expeditions
US Coast Guard officials have begun a two-week inquiry to uncover the facts of what happened on the Titan submersible before it imploded, killing all five people inside.
The deep-sea vessel was less than two hours into its descent towards the wreck of the Titanic when it imploded in June 2023.
Investigators displayed a recreation of the journey, which included text messages between Titan and its mother ship the Polar Prince.
Titan began its dive just around 9am local time when support staff on the mother ship asked about the submersible's depth and weight, and if it still had visuals on the ship's on-board display.
The BBC reported that communications were patchy, but about an hour into the dive, Titan messaged, "all good here".
"Its last message was sent at 10.47 local time, at a depth of 3346m, to say it had dropped two weights. After that, communication was lost."
Shown at the hearing for the first time was an image taken by a remotely operated vehicle, of Titan's tail cone sitting on the sea floor following the implosion.
During the hearing, in South Carolina, officials presented a historical overview of the Titan, noting that its hull had never been subject to third-party testing and had been left exposed to weather and other elements while in storage.
They also discovered serious problems experienced by the submersible on expeditions carried out before the disaster. In 2021 and 2022, over the course of 13 dives to the Titanic, there were 118 reported equipment issues.
OceanGate, the manufacturer of the submersible, has faced questioning before about design choices, safety records and adherence to regulations.
After the incident, OceanGate suspended all exploration and commercial operations.
At this time, the company has no full-time staff but will be represented by a lawyer during the inquiry.
The US Coast Guard's Marine Board of Investigations (MBI) is expected to hear from as many as 10 former OceanGate employees.
An MBI is the highest available level of inquiry into US marine casualties with only one hearing per year.
- This story was first published by Stuff