Some of the last chilling words from the crew of a submersible, which was headed for the wreck of the Titanic before it imploded, have been revealed in a hearing.
The words “all good here” were said by the crew who were never seen again after the implosion killed all five crew members during the dive, according to a presentation on Monday.
The first picture of the wreck of the Titan submersible on the ocean floor was also released.
The image showed the tail cone of the vessel sticking out of the mud at 3,775m deep alongside other debris.
It is the first day of what is expected to be a two-week hearing on the causes of the implosion on the Titan submersible in 2023 amid an expedition to see the wreck of the Titanic.
A visual re-creation of the journey of the Titan was presented by US Coast Guard, who also showed that the crew had been communicating with staff on the support ship Polar Prince via text messages.
The crew lost contact after an exchange of texts as it descended on July 18, with The Polar Prince then sending repeated messages asking if the Titan could still see the ship on its onboard display.
One of Titan’s final responses, which became spotty as it descended, was “all good here.”
The implosion killed British adventurer Hamish Harding, and father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, alongside OceanGate Expeditions’ chief executive Stockton Rush and Frenchman Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
In Monday’s testimony, Coast Guard officials said Titan was left exposed to weather and elements while in storage for seven months in 2022 and 2023.
They added the hull was also never subject to third party checks.
Meanwhile, the hearing’s first witness, OceanGate’s former engineering director, Tony Nissen, testified that Rush could be difficult to work for and was often very concerned with costs and project schedules, among other issues. Nissen also said that initially, he had “no idea they wanted to go to the Titanic.”
He added that what Rush wanted would change day to day and that he tried to keep his clashes with Rush behind closed doors so that others in the company wouldn’t be aware.
Jason Neubauer of the Coast Guard Office of Investigations, who led the hearing, said: “There are no words to ease the loss endured by the families impacted by this tragic incident. But we hope that this hearing will help shed light on the cause of the tragedy and prevent anything like this from happening again.”
The ongoing Marine Board of Investigation is the highest level of marine casualty investigation conducted by the Coast Guard.
When the hearing concludes, recommendations will be submitted to the Coast Guard’s commandant.
