Following the catastrophic failure of its Titan submersible in late June, OceanGate Expeditions has announced the indefinite suspension of all its exploration and commercial operations. The company, known for offering expensive tickets to visit the ocean floor and the wreck of the Titanic, shared the announcement via a banner on its website. However, the company did not provide further comment on the matter.
Debris from the damaged Titan sub was observed on June 28, as it was offloaded from a U.S. Coast Guard vessel in Canada. The submersible experienced a catastrophic implosion during its descent towards the Titanic wreck, approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes into the dive. Among the passengers on board were U.K. billionaire Hamish Harding, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, and French mariner Paul-Henry Nargeolet.
OceanGate had previously offered tickets priced at $250,000 for tourists to visit the iconic Titanic wreckage using the submersible. Legal experts state that the families of those on board do not have a legal avenue to sue the company. During the recovery operation, presumed human remains were discovered along with the wreckage. Despite an extensive search effort, debris from the craft was found on June 22, and it was confirmed that all those on board had tragically lost their lives.
