After a tragic implosion occurred last week while it was traveling to the Titanic ruins, debris from the lost submarine Titan has been brought back to land.
A critical component of the inquiry into why the submersible collapsed, killing all five aboard, is the return of the debris to port at St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.
On Wednesday, twisted pieces of the 22-foot submersible washed up at a Canadian Coast Guard dock.
A remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, was sent by the Canadian ship Horizon Arctic to look for submersible parts near the Titanic disaster.
The ROV’s owner, Pelagic Research Services, a business with locations in Massachusetts and New York, stated in a statement on Wednesday that it has completed offshore operations.
Pelagic Research Services stated that its team is “still on mission” and is unable to comment on the continuing Titan investigation, which is being conducted by a number of American and Canadian government authorities.
The business added in a statement that the crew members were eager to complete the mission and return to their loved ones because they had been working nonstop for the past ten days despite the physical and emotional demands of the operation.
The Coast Guard said last week that debris from the Titanic was found on the ocean bottom 1,600 feet (488 meters) from the Titanic and at a depth of around 12,500 feet (3,810 meters).
The submersible collapsed during its descent on June 18, and the Coast Guard is currently overseeing the inquiry into why.
On June 22, authorities declared that the submersible had collapsed and that all five people inside had perished.
The Titan submersible’s loss has been classified as a “major marine casualty” by the Coast Guard, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, and the Coast Guard will oversee the inquiry.
On Wednesday, officials of the Coast Guard chose not to comment on the inquiry or the retrieval of the debris.
The inquiry is being conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, both of whose representatives declined to comment.
Liam MacDonald, a spokesman for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, stated that because the investigation is still underway, “we are unable to provide any additional information at this time.”
Although the Titan’s owner and operator, OceanGate Expeditions, is located in the United States, the submarine was actually registered in the Bahamas. Everett, Washington-based OceanGate shut down once the Titan was discovered.
The Polar Prince, the Titan’s mother ship, was a Canadian vessel, and the victims were nationals of the United States, Pakistan, England, and France.
Each traveler paid the operator $250,000 to take part in the trip.
The safety of private underwater research activities has come under scrutiny following the Titan’s explosion.
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