We will post updates as this story develops.
“Titanic” Director James Cameron Responds to Submersible Deaths
4:30pm: According to tweet from ABC News, “Titanic” Director James Cameron stated, “I’m struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field.” James Cameron was a close friend of Paul Henri Nargeolet, a passenger who on the Titan submersible.
The lives lost on board include Nargeolet, Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman, and Ocean Gate CEO Rush.
Search Crews Confirm Debris is From the Vessel
3:00pm: A live press conference was held to discuss the findings of the debris, available on CNN. Undersea expert Paul Hanken stated, “We found find different pieces of debris that told us it was the remains of the titan.” He continued, “Within the debris field, we found the front-end bell of the pressure hull. That was the first indication there was a catastrophic event.” The Admiral added, “The debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel. We will continue to search the area.”
Debris Found Raises Concerns
The latest news story is the missing submersible that went down in the depths of the ocean to visit the Titanic wreckage. The coverage is everywhere from blogs, to Facebook, to all forms of media outlets. New information is coming to light every single minute. But, there is still so much that we don’t know.
Today, Thursday, June 22, at 3 p.m., MSNBC will have coverage of a live press conference for updates. We will also post any new information that we find.
According to Tim Taylor on an MSNBC interview at 1 p.m. this afternoon, there was debris found. Some people have concerns and doubts as to whether or not this is debris from a potential implosion, or if it is just debris from the old Titanic wreckage. Taylor has stated that if the debris is from an implosion they will find “all or nothing.” Parts of the submersible would not have broken off into little pieces leaving the main part intact.
Ron Allen on MSNBC also stated that it was an “ominous sounding development.” There was debris found on the ocean floor by the “magic robots” they are using, and it was not large debris, it was small as if it was from a small craft.
Chris Jansing from MSNBC begged the question, has anyone ever seen this kind of mobilization before? Countries are coming together to use new technology and “magic robots” to try and locate the missing craft and crew. People are working tirelessly around the clock hoping for a miracle.
Jansing also called this kind of mission “extremely dangerous.” And asked Taylor what the mindset is of someone who could sign up for such an extreme mission could be. Taylor said that this is for a certain type of person. People who sign up for these kinds of things know what they are potentially getting into. They have to sign the waivers beforehand. But for them, it’s about being “a part of the experiment.” He goes on to elaborate, “It is sad. [But] it is choices people make.”
Taylor did also discuss how they were lucky in this case because they didn’t have to search the wide-open ocean. “Knowing where they are to start is a key in this.” He stated that, “If they did implode, they sank, and they sank right there.”
We are still waiting on word if the debris found is from the submersible or not. According to CNN, “The US Coast Guard will go through a verification process to determine whether a debris field found in the search area for the missing Titanic submersible is related to the sub.” This was told to CNN by Maximilian Cremer, the director of the Ocean Technology Group at the University of Hawaii Marine Center.
The sub had an oxygen supply of 96 hours, and that time is now up, according to CNN.
Jaime Herzog
Intern