The U.S. Coast Guard began a two-week series of hearings today regarding the Titan submersible’s implosion, disclosing one of the crew’s last chilling messages: “All good here.”

The submersible, which aimed to explore the Titanic, imploded nearly 12,500 feet underwater on June 18, 2023. The world held its breath for four days, waiting to learn the fate of the five individuals onboard.

During the initial part of the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation public hearing in North Charleston, South Carolina, a stark animated video displayed the Titan’s journey as it was deployed by its support ship, the Polar Prince, along with the dialogue between the Titan and its ship crew.

A final text from the Titan was transmitted at 10:14 a.m. local time in Newfoundland. Communication efforts ceased around 10:47 a.m., rendering the Titan unreachable by the Polar Prince.

All five individuals aboard, including Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, were subjected to extreme pressures as they descended, aiming to view the Titanic wreckage.

A lawsuit by one victim’s family claimed that the five passengers likely faced “fear and distress” just moments before the submersible imploded.

According to the lawsuit, “The crew likely heard an increasing crackling sound from the carbon fiber as the water pressure mounted against Titan’s shell,” and they continued their descent, aware that the vessel was experiencing serious failures and suffering from fear and awareness of their impending doom before the implosion occurred.

In a statement released on Monday, OceanGate expressed, “We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends affected by the tragic loss of the Titan. While words cannot alleviate their pain, we hope this hearing will provide clarity regarding what transpired.”

What insights has the hearing provided?

So far, the list of witnesses to appear at the Coast Guard hearing includes 24 individuals, featuring several former OceanGate employees, the company responsible for the Titan and its mission.

On the first day, Tony Nissen, the former engineering director of OceanGate, informed Coast Guard officers that there were numerous design and performance issues with the Titan leading up to the tragic voyage.

Nissen mentioned that the company co-founder, Stockton Rush, pushed aggressively concerning costs and timelines, making collaboration challenging. He also relayed his experiences observing hull cracking issues with the Titan’s innovative carbon fiber shell in the years 2018 and 2019.

Additional witnesses during the two-week hearing will include OceanGate’s founder Guillermo Sohnlein, along with the human resources and finance director, operations director, contractors, mission specialists, and scientific director of the company.

Following the tragedy, OceanGate has ceased operations and currently does not employ any staff. At the hearings, the company will be represented by Jane Shvets and Adrianna Finger from Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, as stated in their announcement.

What was the Titan’s intended mission?

The implosion transpired only hours after the Titan began its journey to take four passengers to the Titanic’s final resting site nearly 12,500 feet below the ocean.

The Titanic sank in 1912 after colliding with an iceberg on its inaugural journey from England, resulting in over 1,500 fatalities. This tragic voyage inspired numerous books and films, including the iconic 1997 movie “Titanic.”

What caused the Titan’s disaster?

The Titan’s journey, which was slated to last eight hours, commenced at 8 a.m. on June 18, 2023, approximately 435 miles away from Newfoundland’s coast.

Contact with the submersible was lost an hour and 45 minutes later. By 3 p.m., the Titan had not surfaced as expected. A desperate search and rescue operation followed, capturing global attention for four days.

Aboard were Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate Inc.; Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 73, a French deep-sea explorer; Hamish Harding, 58, a British adventurer and pilot; Shahzada Dawood, 48, a Pakistani-British businessman; and his 19-year-old son, Suleman Dawood.

It wasn’t until 11:48 a.m. on June 22 that the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed the discovery of a debris field, indicating the vessel likely experienced a “catastrophic implosion,” and that all aboard the Titan were presumed lost.

What has the Titan investigation uncovered?

The U.S. Coast Guard, along with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the French Marine Casualty Investigation Authority, is collaborating on simultaneous safety investigations regarding the incident.

French authorities are participating because one of the victims, Titanic expert Nargeolet, was a French national. Canadian officials are involved due to the Titan submersible being relocated to its dive location aboard the Canadian-flagged support vessel Polar Prince, which departed from Newfoundland, Canada.

Hearings by the U.S. Coast Guard commenced on Monday, focusing on the known safety issues and structural integrity of the Titan vessel.

The discussions included technical matters as Nissen reviewed concerns that emerged after dives made by the Titan in the Bahamas during 2018 and 2019. He sifted through a collection of thick binders with the Coast Guard panel, examining documents related to those expeditions.

In 2019, a crack was detected in the hull, which Nissen considered too risky for the vessel to continue operating. He displayed images showing the hull’s condition, indicating significant issues. “It was the most frustrated I’d seen Stockton, without a doubt,” Nissen mentioned.

Nissen was terminated in June 2019.

“It was because I prevented them from proceeding to Titanic,” he testified.

What has happened to the company that owned Titan?

Following the incident, OceanGate announced on its website two weeks later that it had halted “all exploration and commercial operations.” Its headquarters in Everett, Washington, were closed. The company, established in 2008, saw its business license expire on June 7, as per Washington Department of Revenue records.

The nonprofit branch of the company, known as the OceanGate Foundation, was created in 2010 but was also shut down in 2023, according to records from the Washington Department of Revenue.

Additionally, OceanGate Inc. managed a subsidiary, OceanGate Expeditions, from the same location. Records from Washington indicate that it ceased operations on March 31, 2021.