Owner of the submersible, which imploded during a disastrous trip to the Titanic wreckage in June, OceanGate Expeditions, has announced the suspension of all its commercial activities.
This was contained in a short message on OceanGate’s website. The message read: “OceanGate has suspended all exploration and commercial operations.”
The announcement comes two weeks after OceanGate’s vessel, Titan, imploded in the sea, killing all five underwater explorers aboard the submersible, including the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Stockton Rush.
Other occupants of the Titan sub include British businessman Hamish Harding, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, and French explorer Paul-Henry Nargeolet.
The Titanic wreck sits over 12,000 feet below the sea, and OceanGate had previously carried out successful trips to the site, for the cost of $250,000 per passenger.
OceanGate lost contact with the sub less than two hours after it dived into the sea, resulting in a frenzied search that lasted for four days, after which parts of the vessel were found on the sea floor, and the United States Coast Guard said it suffered a catastrophic implosion on the day it went missing.
Following the implosion, previous concerns about the safety of the submersible were made public.
There had been calls from at least three dozen experts in the industry for extra assessment and warnings of possible catastrophe due to the company’s refusal to subject the vessel to further inspection.
OceanGate has been the subject of public criticism for ignoring warnings of potential disaster and experimenting with the lives of unsuspecting passengers.
On June 29, presumed human remains were found within the Titan’s wreckage brought up from the ocean floor.
The US Coast Guard has set up a Marine Board of Investigation, described as its highest level of inquiry, to investigate the cause of the catastrophic implosion and provide recommendations against a future reoccurrence.
On its website, the company also advertised tours of the Portuguese archipelago of Azores and the Bahamas.
An investigation is ongoing into how the sub imploded during a dive to the Titanic wreck on 18 June.
Led by the US Coast Guard, authorities said the inquiry would aim to prevent similar accidents in future.
Chief investigator Cpt Jason Neubauer said last month that the Coast Guard had convened its highest level of investigation, and that the probe would be run jointly with Canadian, UK and French authorities. The investigation would be able to recommend civil or criminal charges, Cpt Neubauer said.
On 28 June the Coast Guard said debris and human remains from the Titan had been recovered and returned to land – concluding an early stage of the investigation. Authorities said the debris would be taken to a US port for more analysis.
Cpt Neubauer said in a statement last week that there was still “a substantial amount of work” left for investigators.
OceanGate’s CEO Stockton Rush, 61, died on board the Titan alongside the four other passengers: British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Suleman, 19, British businessman Hamish Harding, 58, and Paul-Henry Nargeolet, 77, a former French navy diver.
Rush earned a reputation as an ambitious explorer and a passionate leader, one who occasionally broke rules to pursue his dream of exploring the sea.
He was on board the Titan for several successful dives, though he had reportedly ignored warnings over the safety of his sub.
Sourced from the internet and BBC
