The search for a submersible is still on following an unfortunate turn of events that took place this past weekend. Said vessel had descended into the depths of the mid-Atlantic during an expedition to check out the wreckage of the Titanic. Unfortunately, on Sunday, the sub went missing while it was still underwater. Since that initial news broke, additional details on the matter have come to light. At the same time, the development has also had an interesting effect on a news story that was covered several months ago. More specifically, a video about the “jerry-rigged” sub design and more is now going viral.
Said expedition is part of a tourism offering that allows anyone (who can afford to pay $250,000) to take the submersible on a journey to explore the mysteries of the deep. This trip was devised by OceanGate Expedition, and the now-missing sub in question is known as Titan. These exclusive trips to the Titanic’s remains have been offered since 2021, but only a few voyages have been made since then. Though as you’d expect, there’s still been plenty of interest from the public in regard to the specifics of this pricey venture.
CBS Sunday Morning did a piece on OceanGate’s attraction six months ago, with the story being covered by veteran reporter David Pogue. The newsman actually visited last year and got some first-hand experience with the sub. Sometime after getting a tour of the vessel, Pogue himself was ultimately submerged for about 12 hours, diving down to see the remains of the ill-fated passenger liner. You can see the video in full for yourself down below:
Considering the content of this video and what’s recently occurred, it probably shouldn’t be all that surprising that there’s been renewed interest in CBS’ coverage. What a number of social media viewers seem to be zeroing in on is that David Pogue seemed somewhat “nervous” about taking part in the voyage. The most viral portion of the package has been the part that shows the journalist listing the potential dangers. As he mentions in the video above, Titan is “an experimental submersible vessel that has not been approved or certified by any regulatory body and could result in physical injury, disability, emotional trauma or death.”
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With that, he had concerns about the actual design of the sub, which reportedly holds five people. The vessel utilizes a number of custom elements, including lights purchased from Camping World. In addition, a gaming controller is used to direct the sub. All in all, the Eye Network reporter likened this setup to “elements of MacGyvery jerry-rigged-ness.”
These details are sure to remain on people’s minds as Titan remains missing. Amid the search, the public has learned the identities of some of the passengers, including British billionaire Hamish Harding and Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate. The United States Coast Guard is heading a search and, just this morning, the organization tweeted that it had “detected underwater noises in the search area,” though subsequent ROV searches have not been successful.
A number of individuals have weighed in on the matter, with one being Park Stephenson. One of the Titanic behind-the-scenes facts that some may not know is that James Cameron consulted with the explorer while making the film (which can be streamed with a Prime Video subscription). When reacting to the situation with the Titan, Stephenson asked that the public not jump to conclusions about what did (or might) happen. He also asked that people keep the passengers involved in their thoughts. That’s certainly good advice to follow, as we – like him, David Pogue and others – continue to learn more about this situation.
