Latest news with #TitanSubmersible
Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Was THIS the fatal flaw that doomed Titan? How 'peanut butter' glue used to join 22ft sub together was never certified to work in deep seawater
Glue used to hold the doomed Titan submersible together was never certified to work in deep seawater, it can be revealed today. Henkel, the German adhesive giant which manufactured the resin in question, said it was only ever marketed for the aerospace sector. Although it admits the glue can safely be used 'in other applications', Henkel 'does not certify its products for various uses'. A spokesperson said: 'It is the end user's responsibility to test their design to ensure proper performance.' Sources from inside Henkel had no idea their glue was even used on Titan until MailOnline told them, and confirmed it was 'not specified for usage under water'. Questions are now being asked as to whether the choice of glue was partly to blame for the 22ft sub's catastrophic implosion on June 18, 2023. All five passengers onboard were killed near instantaneously when the vessel caved in on itself. Cruising 12,500ft beneath the Atlantic Ocean, they were just minutes away from getting a glimpse of the Titanic's wreck. One world leading expert said he would never have advised OceanGate, the firm which operated Titan, used the Loctite EA 9394 Aero resin to bond the carbon fibre hull and titanium sections of the submersible together. Loughborough University's Dr Christian Stone, who specialises in corrosion, said it effectively turned the sub into a giant battery. The paste, listed online as possessing 'excellent strength' and having 'improved wet properties', contains between 30 and 40 per cent powdered aluminium. By using the metallic-based glue, OceanGate's CEO Stockton Rush, who died in the implosion, may have introduced a fatal flaw into his 'experimental' submersible. Titan's maintenance log noted on June 17 a problem with 'unsightly' sealant joining the titanium to the carbon fibre. The crew 'ground off bumps' to make a 'smooth surface'. Dr Stone, whose expertise is in galvanic corrosion – an electrochemical process where one metal will, when placed in certain environments such as seawater, sacrifice itself on behalf of another, said this should have been seen as a major red flag. He told MailOnline: 'If you put two metals together and they're connected electrically to a media which conducts electricity like seawater you make a battery. 'One side of that battery will corrode and give up ions. The other side will actually be protected. 'At the corroding side, we call this the anode and that makes acid. The other side is the cathode in which case in our case that will be carbon fibre or titanium and that will make alkaline. 'How quickly that anode side, the corroding side, corrodes depends in part on how conductive the environment is.' The wreckage of Titan showed that much of the five-inch thick carbon fibre hull delaminated and pulled apart into different layers as well as losing its bonding to the crucial titanium ceal Dr Stone said the 'unsightly' area on the joint could have been evidence of aluminium oxide – the result of the corrosion. Without testing, he cautioned it is difficult to determine how big an effect this would have had on the Titan's structure. Dr Stone warned that 'in the most extreme circumstances', this might have potentially triggered a 'very small amount of honeycombing'. Any gaps would have weakened the hull's structure and left it vulnerable to the extraordinary force exerted by the ocean. He said this reaction would begin once Titan was exposed to any salty air but would 'accelerate once they are within the water'. Dr Stone added: 'This will be especially potent when they are going in and out of the water many times because then it will also get exposed to oxygen as well as water, which is good for corrosion.' Dealing with the unsightly sealant by grinding it off was also unwise. He said: 'If they were repeatedly cleaning that kind of sealant, they may have actually done more damage cleaning it than would have occurred due to the corrosion. 'The use of vibrating tools on brittle materials such as epoxy (resin) can have a damaging effect on the stress cycle of these things. It all depends on what the engineering margins are in these extreme environments.' Lower safety margins would result in a greater danger of failure. Ultimately, Dr Stone told MailOnline that the product they used was designed for high altitudes and not the deep sea. He said: 'I would have advised them to use a filler material that was inert and does not conduct electricity.' Dr Stone said OceanGate should have spent more time testing, including the use of accelerated corrosion and stress testing. He added: 'I would also recommend preventive measures such as anodizing the titanium, coating the carbon fibre, and coating the sealant as well just to remove any chance of any of them interacting to make a cell and a battery.' When building his submersible, Rush appeared in a promotional video showing his team applying the glue to craft using large plastic spatulas. He said the product was 'like peanut butter' and thicker than Elmer's glue. Showing absolute confidence in his problem-solving skills and ability to think independently, Rush told the camera that attaching carbon fibre to titanium 'is pretty simple, but if we mess it up, there's not a lot of room for recovery'. A US Coast Guard investigation into the June 2023 tragedy is expected to publish a report into the disaster before the end of the year. As part of the investigation, experts at the National Transportation Safety Board examined the wreckage which was recovered from the scene. Examining the crucial joint, the NTSB found: 'Most of the adhesive originally used to bond the hull to the titanium segment had disbonded from the machined end of the hull piece, but there was an approximately 3.5-inch-long patch where some adhesive bits were still attached.' The glue had failed to hold the sub together, although it is not thought to be the underlying factor behind the implosion. Donald Kramer, senior materials engineer of the NTSB, wrote: 'The aft dome, aft segment, aft portions of the hull, and rails were located together in a comingled mass. The forward dome was located by itself.' The sub had failed at the front, investigators believe. Much of the imploding sub behind the very front was sent hurtling towards the rear dome, hitting it with such force it twisted the titanium ring which was glued to the hull, and ripped out several of the heavy duty bolts screwing the two parts together. OceanGate has suspended all exploration and commercial operations following the disaster.
The Independent
19-06-2025
- General
- The Independent
OceanGate CEO heard eerie ‘popping' sounds in doomed Titan sub before fatal implosion
Footage from a Netflix documentary reveals the Titan submersible made "attention-grabbing pops" during a previous test dive. These sounds, heard by OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, were eerie thumps from the carbon fiber hull, indicating tiny fibers snapping under pressure. Rush expressed concern, stating "as long as it doesn't crack, I'm okay," before safely resurfacing from that particular dive. The incident occurred before the fatal implosion on June 18, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of all five passengers onboard. Watch the video in full above.
Al Arabiya
19-06-2025
- General
- Al Arabiya
Two years on: What the Titan submersible teaches the world about wealth inequality
Two years ago, OceanGate's Titan submersible implosion killed all five men on-board and during that same week, over 600 migrants died off the Greek coast in attempts to reach Europe. While the world reacted to both tragedies with solemnity, there were key differences in how public sentiment received the news of each incident. On-board the Titan submersible was OceanGate's CEO Stockton Rush, British explorer Hamish Harding, veteran French diver Paul Henri Nargeolet, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman. Many people who followed the news at the time can share at least one name or fact about at least one of the Titan submersible passengers. However, it would be surprising if anyone is able to name any man, women or child who died in the migrant shipwreck near Greece. Did a migrant's life cost less than that of individuals who paid $250,000 for their fateful adventure? Is it fair that one tragedy drew more attention than the other? Is it unrealistic to expect an impeccable collective conscience from a world that is doused in imperfections? After all, prominence is one of the key criteria to decide a story's newsworthiness. And a once-in-a-lifetime exploration trip to see the Titanic shipwreck was undeniably notable; however, the death of hundreds of individuals in search of a better life ought to be equally prominent – if not more. All questions aside, the world would be amiss if it did not at least attempt to reflect on some lessons about wealth equality and the costs of human life. If the American tourism and expedition company was treading the line between bravery and carelessness, are we responsible for the way the world has come to earn and celebrate wealth? How much is too much in this cruel game of disparity, where most struggle in desperation while few engage in excessive indulgence? On the contrary, maybe such arguments only arise in hindsight. If the Titan journey was successful, it would have been met with excitement and awe – as the previous two similar journeys were. In that case, should high-budget exploration be deemed irresponsible just for the seemingly unjustified cost? And if yes, then how would humanity continue its pursuits in science and technology, which have at times proven to be extremely beneficial? When we get down to the brass tacks, was it just a matter of ensuring safety and ruling out any negligence? In a philosophical sense, was it mere fate? Is it worth understanding and unpacking layers of what-ifs? Or maybe two years on, is it time to learn what the Titan submersible teaches the world about wealth inequality? A report by the Pew Research Center published in January 2025 outlines the grim state of wealth inequality across the world. Not much about the findings is surprising, but it might be time to concede that things don't need to be how they are. If individuals and civil societies are willing to make changes about their relationships with wealth, then international organizations and nation states are likely to follow suit. That is not to say that the greater responsibility in the grand scheme of things lies on common citizens, but that it is important to remember that people have the agency to affect change – should they make the brave choice to exercise it. Conducted across 36 countries, the Pew Research Center survey finds data to back this call for change, with a majority of responders projecting 'deep global anxieties about the economic future and a strong desire for economic reform.' While 54 percent of people said that economic inequality is a 'very big problem' in their country, 30 percent said it was a 'moderately big problem' – that is over 80 percent people agreeing that it is indeed a problem, irrespective of how big. In financially developed countries such as Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and the US, a median of 57 percent adults responded that they expect the next generation to be in worse economic standing than their parents. Meanwhile, in some South Asian and Southeast Asian countries including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, people were more optimistic about their outlook on the economic prospects of their children's generation. A key finding of the study shows that 33 out of the 36 nations polled agree that their country's economic system either needs major changes or a complete reform. This shows that most of us is more likely to believe that wealth inequality needs to be addressed than those who say it is not a problem at all. The discussion probably raises more questions than it answers, which is not the worst thing to jolt a world in need of some active introspection. Because when push comes to shove, money is at the heart of all that happens. The press follows the money. Individuals work around money all their lives. And because nation states chart their path with money in mind, we give rise to poverty, war and injustice - all things that the hundreds of migrants on the fishing boat to Europe were trying to flee.
The Independent
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Viewers of Netflix's Titan OceanGate documentary ‘disturbed' by same scene
Netflix 's new documentary, Titan: The OceanGate Submersible Disaster, explores the events leading up to the fatal implosion of the Titan submersible in June 2023, which killed five people. The documentary has become Netflix's most-streamed title, focusing on OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and the concerns raised about the vessel's safety. A key scene shows Rush dismissing safety concerns, telling passengers, "if you hear an alarm, don't worry about it," which viewers found disturbing. The documentary reveals Rush proceeded with the expedition without third-party classification and includes former marine operations director David Lochridge's concerns about the carbon fibre hull. The Titan suffered a "catastrophic explosion" during its expedition to view the Titanic wreck, killing Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Stockton Rush.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Here's the 1 Netflix Movie I Can't Wait to Watch in June 2025
Two years ago, the world was gripped by the story of the Titan submersible disaster, in which an unregulated undersea vessel was crushed during an attempt to visit the wreckage of the Titanic. Everyone on board the vessel was lost, including Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet and Stockton Rush, the pilot of the Titan and the CEO of its parent company, OceanGate. The story behind this tragic event is told in Titan: The OceanGate Disaster, a new documentary coming this month. It's also my pick for the one Netflix movie I can't wait to watch in June. These events played out in the public eye in June 2023, but the backstory of Rush and his apparent disregard for the dangers involved are part of the film's primary focus. Missing Titanic Submarine Pilot Is Married to Descendent of Shipwreck's Victims Director Mark Monroe spends a good deal of time unraveling Stockton Rush, a man whose dreams of fame were only truly achieved by his death and by the way it happened. The people who worked alongside — and for — Rush describe him as someone who wanted to be known as the next Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk. He was also, by his own words, less than concerned about the safety of his company's activities. The portrait of Rush that emerges in Titan: The OceanGate Disaster isn't very flattering, as he refused all warnings and silenced all whistleblowers who tried in vain to rein him in before it was too late. In the trailer above, one of the documentary participants says that Rush was "a borderline psychopath" who was impossible to manage as the boss of his own company. He paid the price for his hubris, but he wasn't the only one. This question is explored at length in the documentary itself, but the short answer is that Rush opted to have the Titan constructed with materials that weren't meant to be used for a deep-sea submersible vessel. There's a reason why there aren't many underwater excursions to the Titanic's wreck. It's nearly 3,800 meters beneath the surface of the ocean, and that's a depth that the Titan could only reach so many times before it imploded from the pressure. James Cameron Reacts to Titan Submersible Tragedy: 'I'm Struck by the Similarity of the Titanic Disaster Itself' There are several pictures and video clips of the Titan itself in this documentary, and you may be horrified to learn that Rush and his other pilots controlled the vessel's movements with an off-the-shelf video game controller. Rush catered the Titan to wealthy tourists, but some of them were understandably horrified by how unsafe the vessel appeared to be. That response may have saved their lives. No. For the most part, the film's focus is on Rush and the creation of the Titan and the origin of OceanGate. There's always room for more documentaries about the other victims in the future, but almost everything about this event centers on Rush himself. It seems inevitable that someone will make a scripted movie about Rush in the future. For now, Titan: The OceanGate Disaster may be the definitive word on what happened. Titan: The OceanGate Disaster will stream on Netflix on June 11.
