The drama of the disappearance of the Titanic submarine that carried tourists to the Titanic ended this morning when the United States Coast Guard (USCG) confirmed the discovery of its wreckage on the sea floor. Based on the scattered debris, the USCG believes Titan exploded due to sea pressure reaching 380 times higher than atmospheric pressure. All five crew members are now confirmed dead.
The wreckage was found by an ROV from the Horizon Arctic ship which has been searching since yesterday. Initially the stern cone of the Titanic was found 1700 feet from the bow of the Titanic before more debris was found. Two ROVs are currently mapping Titan's debris field for the purpose of investigating what actually happened to cause this tragedy.
Since it was reported missing on Sunday morning local time, there have been various reports OceanGate who built the Titan is suing former engineers because the windows used were not designed to go to a depth of more than 1300 meters (the wreck of the Titanic lies at a depth of 3800 meters). The certification and security process was also not done by OceanGate even after being advised since 2018.
Meanwhile, according to a Wall Street Journal report, the fate of the five crew members of the Titan has actually been known by the United States Navy (USN) since day one. A network of sonar and submarine detection sensors (SOSUS) detected the sound of an explosion under the sea on the day Titan was reported missing. It is not known why the USN did not share this information with search and rescue teams who then rushed to Titan's location.
SOSUS or the long name Sound Surveillance System is a network of sensors built after the Second World War to detect the presence of Soviet submarines in the Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the underwater hydrophone system, it now has a more modern array of sensors to detect submarines that are now quieter when operating.