When the Titan is submerged, communications with the support ship on the surface are conducted over an acoustic link. Carbon fibre is widely regarded as an untested material: when it fails, it can fail catastrophically. While the vessel was designed to operate down to 4,000 metres, and would have had a safety margin to go deeper, industry experts said other deep-sea vessels used steel or titanium alone to ensure their hulls could take the pressure. By that time, experts believe it reached a depth of about 3,500 metres, where each square inch of the structure would have been subjected to a force equivalent to more than two tonnes. As the vessel plunged deeper, a real-time hull health monitoring system would have reported the strain on the hull, a carbon fibre structure that connects two titanium composite domes.Ĭontact was lost with the Titan one hour and 45 minutes into the expedition. The Titan was expected to spend two hours descending to the Titanic, a few hours exploring the site, and two more resurfacing. The problem with getting entangled is there is often little that can be done from inside a submersible to work the vessel free. An expedition would typically plan to keep a safe distance from the wreckage, though strong undersea currents can make this a challenge. The Titanic itself is a hazardous structure that a submersible could become caught in, but lost trawler fishing nets and other drifting materials either at or near the site can also present a danger of entanglement. These aim to ensure all is fine before the descent begins: that the hull is sound, the batteries are charged, there are no short circuits or electrical faults, that the thrusters work, that radio and acoustic communications are functioning, and that the submersible can drop the weights it carries when the time comes to resurface.įurther checks are needed to reduce risks at the dive site. Industry insiders said pre-dive preparations would, or should, have included checks on the submersible’s structure and all of the vessel’s mechanical and electrical systems. These would have been absolutely crucial given the crushing pressure generated at 3,800 metres below sea level – the depth of water the Titanic came to rest in – and the real potential of getting lost: the site is nearly 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. What checks were performed before the submersible and its five occupants slipped beneath the waves are unclear, but standard checks and procedures were followed, the Guardian understands.
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