The president of the Titanic International Society has urged for a reassessment of human trips to the wreckage of the Titanic after five people tragically lost their lives aboard the Titan submersible.
The deceased include Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman Dawood, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Stockton Rush, the chief executive and founder of OceanGate Expeditions. The submersible is believed to have imploded while en route to the wreckage.
In an online statement, Charles Haas, president of the Titanic International Society, questioned the continuation of visits to the historic site located 3,800m below the surface. He pondered, "It is time to consider seriously whether human trips to Titanic's wreck should end in the name of safety, with relatively little remaining to be learned from or about the wreck."
Haas said: "Crewed submersibles’ roles in surveying the wreck now can be assigned to autonomous underwater vehicles, like those that mapped the ship and its debris field in high-resolution, 3-D detail last summer."
He added: "The world joins us in expressing our profound sadness and heartbreak about this tragic, avoidable event."
Haas paid tribute to Paul-Henri Nargeolet, highlighting his unparalleled knowledge of the wreck and wreck site.
He noted, "Commander Paul-Henri Nargeolet brought to this expedition more than a quarter-century of expertise, making more dives to Titanic's wreck than anyone on earth. His willingness to share that information kept the world informed about Titanic's deteriorating condition and helped to rewrite significant parts of the ship's history. Sadly, that irreplaceable knowledge has been lost."
The ill-fated Titan submersible had previously visited the wreck in 2021 and 2022 before its third and final trip.
Haas emphasized the need for a thorough investigation into the voyage, involving the US Coast Guard, the National Transportation Safety Board, and their Canadian counterparts. He called for inquiries into the submersible's design, structure, communication and safety systems, as well as the owners' policies and emergency preparations. Haas also stressed the importance of evaluating the proximity, readiness, and deployment of deep-sea rescue systems.
Until 2019, the wreckage had not been visited for 14 years until a series of five dives were conducted in eight days to capture the first-ever 4K images of the decaying ship. Nargeolet had reportedly visited the site over 30 times.
Film director James Cameron, a frequent visitor to the wreck and a friend of Nargeolet, acknowledged warning signs leading up to the ill-fated voyage. Cameron highlighted concerns within the deep submergence engineering community, stating, "A number of the top players in the deep submergence engineering community even wrote letters to the company, saying that what they were doing was too experimental to carry passengers and they needed to be certified."
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