OceanGate's first photo of the Titan bathyscaphe wreckage and the circumstances of the disaster - a public inquiry has begun in the US

During open hearings of the U.S. Coast Guard, new horrifying details emerged regarding the disaster of the submersible "Titan," which occurred in June of last year.

Fifteen months ago, the small submersible descended into the waters of the Atlantic to visit the Titanic wreckage at a depth of nearly 4 km below the surface. During the journey, the submerged "Titan" met with disaster, which was fatal for all five individuals on board.

More than a year later, the Coast Guard revealed the first image of the sunken submersible, taken from a screenshot of video captured by a remotely operated deep-sea drone. The drone discovered the tail cone of the "Titan" and other debris on June 22, four days after its disappearance and a day before an official announcement concerning the loss of the vessel.

The image serves as a chilling reminder of the peril faced by the crew during such an expedition. Stockton Rush, the head of OceanGate, had long dismissed safety concerns and resorted to legal threats against project critics, which ultimately led to his own demise aboard the "Titan."

The hearings marked the first event where officials shared details about the catastrophe. Earlier, the U.S. Coast Guard identified a remarkable number of issues with the vessel: 70 in 2021 and an additional 48 in 2022. Experts pointed out several design flaws, some of which stemmed from OceanGate's cost-cutting measures — including its pill-like shape, which does not comply with industry-standard spherical designs.

Stockton Rush had once boasted about using expired carbon fiber purchased from a now-troubled aerospace contractor, Boeing. Since then, experts have criticized this material as a poor choice for a deep-sea vessel, as carbon fiber weakens over time.

Less than a month before the incident, the "Titan" was found "partially submerged" a few days after launching during tests. In the days leading up to the fatal accident, passengers on a different mission experienced impacts against the walls of the hull.

The exact cause of the "Titan's" hull failure remains unclear. However, the hearings held on Monday, September 16, were just the beginning of a two-week public inquiry that promises to reveal more details.

Sources: The New York Times, The Byte