Deep sea expert with links to University of Sunderland says Titan outcome was a 'forgone conclusion' once contact was lost

Owned by the adventure tourist company OceanGate Expeditions, on June 18 their Titan submarine set off on its journey to far depths of the North Atlantic for those on board to see the wreck of the Titanic.

However, one hour and 45 minutes into the dive, Titan lost contact with her mothership, sparking a frantic four-day search in a bid to locate and save those on board.

Five days after her disappearance, the rescue operation found wreckage of the sub around 500 metres from the bow of the Titanic. Tragically, passengers Hamish Harding, Suleman Dawood, Shahzada Dawood, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, and pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have been confirmed as dead.

Guest University of Sunderland lecturer, commercial diver and deep ocean explorer, Dik Barton, has been examining the ongoing fallout from the disaster.

He said: “Once the Titan submersible had failed to communicate with the mothership, the Polar Prince, sadly, the demise of the Titan and the crew was an already foregone conclusion.  

“The ensuing international rescue efforts were little short of heroic and a demonstration of the extraordinary ability and capabilities of the respective Coastguards, the US Navy and supporting commercial operators.

“Throughout the ensuing four days the consultants and subject matter experts, through the international media globally, kept the candle of hope glowing, hanging out for some positive outcome.  

“The stark reality was the Titan is understood to have experienced a cataclysmic structural failure resulting in a devastating implosion and immediate loss of its entire crew.

“The dive profile of the Titan placed it at about 3,600 plus metres on its descending course to the Titanic wreck-site.”  

The first Briton to ever dive the world’s most famous wreck, and completing a further 22 dives to the site, Dik knows the dangers of diving to such depths better than most.

With the passengers believed to have paid around £195,000 to take part in the eight day expedition to the site, including the dive, Dik has examined whether ‘tourists’ should be paying for the privilege of being taken into such a dangerous environment.

The Titanic sits at a depth of around 12,500ft, with OceanGate saying the vessel was capable of diving to a depth of 13,120ft "with a comfortable safety margin".

Dik said: "The tragic and cataclysmic loss of the Titan submersible during the last OceanGate Titanic Expedition, has brought to the world the extraordinary risks that exist in deep sea exploration.

“The obvious and dreadful outcome is the tragic loss of five lives which has raised questions over checks and balances.

“OceanGate Expeditions had the initiative to run 'tourist expedition' dives to the wreck of the Titanic for those who could afford it.  

“The ocean depths of Titanic at 3,840 metres (2.5 miles) present extraordinary risks and dangers; in fact, just being in the North Atlantic can be treacherous and dangerous. 

“So, we now face the stark reality of a structured investigation as the wreckage of the Titan is mapped and recovered, and the investigation team which falls to The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), as the Titan was operating off a Canadian flagged vessel out of a Canadian port.  

“The findings and the outcome of this investigation will significantly dictate the future of deep-sea exploration and particularly the adventure tourist industry.

“The absolute outcome is going to be a total review and enforcement of regulatory controls and compliance of not only the industry, but more importantly the adventure tourist industry.”

However Dik also highlighted the inevitable risks associated with humankind's inherent desire to explore.

He said: “It is said that if you are not pushing the bounds of risk then you are not exploring, and our human nature drives that passion for exploration.  

“It would be a great shame if this incident were to suppress that passion and fall foul of the rules, regulation, legislation and inherent imposed controls.”

Dik was part of the Titanic Project which saw the recovery of over 6,500 artefacts from the vessel. He was also a consultant on the making of the 1997 movie Titanic.