You may not remember it anymore, but in 2023, there was a submarine vessel (called Oceangate’s Titan) that disappeared with five people inside while they were trying to explore the remains of the Titanic. That was one of the most talked about news stories of the month of June because there were five multimillionaire tycoons inside, and, although it will be two years since that news, it still raises doubts. The United States Coast Guard has recently published unreleased audio recorded by the submarine seconds before its tragic implosion that would mean that there were not even remains of the ship to be brought to the surface.
What does the Titan recording reveal?
It lasts 20 seconds, and captures what is believed to have been the “acoustic signature” of the underwater explosion, as well as a muffled sound followed by complete silence. According to investigators, the audio was detected 1,448 km from the accident site, and although the exact cause of the implosion is still under study, the recording represents a key piece to reconstruct how this tragic event happened.
The audio was captured on June 18, 2023, at 9:34 AM, approximately 90 minutes after the submersible began its descent into the waters of the North Atlantic, near the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
According to experts in underwater acoustics, that dull and brief rumble followed by a deathly silence coincides with the way in which implosions occur underwater, so this has been recorded as key evidence of what happened to this submarine.
How was the sound captured?
The audio was recorded by a Canadian vessel, which heard it but was unable to determine the exact cause of the noise. These sensors are designed to detect sounds of explosions or unusual activity in the ocean, as part of maritime safety programs.
What do we know about the accident of this Titan?
First, that the passengers on board were billionaires Stockton Rush (CEO of OceanGate), Hamish Harding (British businessman) Paul-Henri Nargeolet (Titanic expert), Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood (Pakistani businessmen), and that the main reason for this journey was to go down to the Mariana Trench to discover more information about the Titanic, as well as to be able to see it up close and find out what remains of it.
The descent of this vessel began on June 18 at 8 AM, and one hour and 45 minutes later (approximately) it lost contact with the base of operations.
It is believed that the implosion was due to the extreme pressure of the ocean at more than 3,800 meters deep and that the passengers barely had time to react after the collapse of the submersible.
And do these recordings clarify anything?
Beyond the theories that the users of the boat could still be alive a couple of hours after their disappearance, and many other theories that believed that an underwater entity had swallowed them and taken them to another astral plane, this recording is the first evidence that we have regarding the implosion theory (which was, of all, of course, the most probable). Other theories pointed to the boat being able to have been reduced in size by the pressure of the water, almost like when you step on a can and it gets crushed.
However, hardly any remains of the Titan were found beyond a tail cone and possible human remains that were extracted for later analysis.
There are still many questions surrounding this issue, and more details may soon be released about this structure and what possible errors were involved in this disaster. This tragedy reminds us that there are extreme practices (such as underwater exploration) that carry extreme risks as well.