"Stop Exploring"... OceanGate Halts Operations After 'Titanic Tourism Disaster'

Titan Operator OceanGate Expeditions
"Suspends All Exploration and Commercial Activities" Announcement

OceanGate Expeditions, the company that operated the Titanic tourist submarine 'Titan,' announced that it will cease all exploration activities going forward.

On the 6th (local time), according to AFP and other sources, OceanGate posted on its website that it will "suspend all exploration and commercial activities." This announcement comes about two weeks after news of the Titan's sinking became known.

The submarine carried five people, including OceanGate founder Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani tycoon Shazada Dawood and his son Suleman, and French oceanographer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, all of whom died.

Photo of the submersible Titan released by OceanGate Expeditions in June 2021. [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

The Titan submarine went missing just 1 hour and 45 minutes after submerging into the North Atlantic deep sea on the 18th of last month with the passengers aboard. Subsequently, search operations were conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy, the Canadian Coast Guard, and other private organizations, resulting in the discovery of the submarine wreckage after four days.

Experts have speculated that a problem occurred in the submarine's pressure chamber, causing it to fail to withstand the deep-sea pressure and resulting in a 'implosion.' On the 28th of last month, materials presumed to be remains of the passengers were also recovered and are currently under analysis.

Previously, OceanGate began offering tours around the Titanic wreckage after successfully exploring the site about 4,000 meters underwater in 2018. The tour lasts approximately eight days and costs about $250,000 (around 340 million KRW) per person.

However, despite being a high-priced tourist product, concerns about safety were repeatedly raised due to insufficient safety verification. In particular, it caused controversy when it was revealed that the Titan was controlled using a 'joystick' commonly used in console games.

Meanwhile, the Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg while en route from Southampton, UK, to New York, USA, on April 5, 1912, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,500 passengers.