The British documentary maker Ross Kemp turned down the opportunity to film on the Titan submersible, on which five people died this week, after the vessel was deemed unsafe following third-party checks.
The actor, known for his role as Grant Mitchell in EastEnders, rejected the chance to explore the wreck of the Titanic last year after the production company Atlantic Productions advised against travelling on the submersible and raised questions over whether it met industry safety standards.
Kemp had been considering making a documentary to mark the 110th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic on its maiden voyage from Southampton in 1912.
“I am relieved that Ross did not participate but I am obviously reassured by the professionalism of those companies we were working with that they didn’t suggest that he go on the submarine [sic],” Jonathan Shalit, Kemp’s agent and the chair of InterTalent, told PA Media.
He said it was by good fortune that checks had been carried out thoroughly. “A terrible tragedy, but simple checks by the billionaire would have realised madness,” he tweeted.
Those onboard the submersible were the British adventurer Hamish Harding, 58; the French Titanic explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77; the British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son, Suleman; and the American Stockton Rush, 61, a co-founder of OceanGate, the company that operated the lost vessel.
Contact was lost one hour and 45 minutes into the dive on Sunday afternoon. The passengers are believed to have been killed instantly in a “catastrophic implosion”.
The main support ship for the Titan has returned to St John’s harbour in Canada after the discovery of the implosion. The Polar Prince, which is now the subject of a safety investigation by the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada, arrived at the port in Newfoundland on Saturday morning.
Family members of those who died on the submersible went aboard later on Saturday, investigators said. Kathy Fox, the chair of TSB, told a press conference: “There are family members on the ship. I’m not going to share the content of any interviews because, just like voice recordings, the content of witness interviews are protected under Canadian law.
“Anybody can imagine that it’s difficult, the circumstances they have been under for the last few days and we have to understand that’s going to affect … particularly the families who have lost loved ones.”
Investigations are under way to find out why the vessel imploded, and questions remain over the expedition and the “state-of-the-art vessel”, which had drawn warnings and safety concerns from industry experts.
The submersible was not registered with international agencies, nor was it classified by a maritime industry group that sets basic engineering standards. OceanGate has said this was because it believed Titan’s design was so innovative it would take years for inspectors to understand it.
Earlier this week, the American television producer and Discovery Channel show host Josh Gates said he had also walked away from a “huge opportunity” to film the Titanic due to safety concerns over OceanGate’s vessel.
“There’s more to the history and design of Titan that has not been made public – much of it concerning,” he wrote on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the New York Times published a letter written in 2018 by industry leaders in the submersible vessel field, warning Rush of possible “catastrophic” problems with Titan’s development.
The Marine Technology Society expressed “concern regarding the development of Titan and the planned Titanic expeditions” and warned of “serious consequences for everyone in the industry”.
Warnings over the sub’s safety were reportedly dismissed, according to emails published by the BBC between Rob McCallum, a leading deep-sea exploration specialist, and the firm’s chief executive, Rush, who was killed onboard.
In messages, Rush described criticism of Titan’s safety measures as “baseless lies” from “industry players” who were trying to stop “new entrants from entering their small existing market”.
Atlantic Productions has been approached for comment.
