OceanGate, the company that owned a submersible that fatally imploded on its way to explore the Titanic wreckage says it has suspended all operations.
The Everett, Washington-based company made the announcement this Thursday. “OceanGate has suspended all exploration and commercial operations,” the top of the company’s official website says.
As we previously reported, officials confirmed on June 22, the Titan had suffered a “catastrophic implosion,” days after it made its descent on June 18 in the North Atlantic. The company’s CEO, Stockton Rush, was among those who sadly died when the Titan submersible imploded.
More On The Tragic Implosion
The Titan which was a 23,000-pound vessel that was roughly the size of a minivan was just 1 hour and 45 minutes into a planned dive to reach the remains of the Titanic when it lost contact with its mother ship on June 18. A search had been launched but each day leading up to its last seemed like there was little to no hope to find them in time. On June 22, officials confirmed the Titan had suffered a “catastrophic implosion.”
It was previously revealed the five on board the doomed submersible spent their last moments listening to pre-loaded music in complete darkness and had even prepared for the journey by eating a restricted diet along with wearing insulated clothing for the colder depths.
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The Titan was made from carbon fiber and was steered by a gaming-like controller. It did have a GPS (global positioning system) and relied on text messages sent via an acoustic system for guidance from the Polar Prince, according to reports. Passengers weren’t able to exit without external assistance as they are sealed inside the main cabin by bolts removable only from the outside.
The five men onboard have been identified as Rush; British businessman Hamish Harding, French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani-born businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman.
Since the tragic incident, the men who sadly lost their lives have been honored with ceremonies at 2 museums where the original 1912 tragedy is memorialized.
Titanic Museum in Branson held an event where staff gathered together in the ship’s memorial room, where names of all the souls lost on the Titanic covered the walls. The men were honored with a brief tribute and a white rose wreath. The Titanic Museum is in its 17th year, and staff said they had not seen an increase in visitors since the OceanGate submersible went missing.