#submarinedisaster

The US Coast Guard has held a week-long hearing into the Titan submersible tragedy, which resulted in the deaths of all five aboard during a deep-sea dive to the Titanic wreck. Investigators aim to determine the cause of the implosion and to prevent future similar incidents. Here are the key takeaways from the first week of hearings:

1. Crew's Final Words: "All Good Here" The last message sent by the crew of the Titan submersible was a brief "All good here." The message was relayed roughly an hour into their descent to the Titanic wreck at 3,346 meters, after which communication was lost. Despite patchy communication, no immediate issues were reported before the tragedy.

2. Witness Recalls the Crew’s Final Moments Renata Rojas, a mission specialist on the surface vessel, recalled the last moments with the crew as they smiled and prepared for their dive. She testified about the emotional shock of losing contact with the sub and described the mission as risky but not unsafe.

3. Whistleblower: Tragedy Was "Inevitable" David Lochridge, a former operations director at OceanGate, revealed that he had raised safety concerns in 2018, years before the accident. He testified that OceanGate overlooked critical issues, such as the use of carbon fiber in the sub's construction, which he believed made the disaster inevitable.

4. New Footage of Titan Wreckage Newly released footage from a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) shows the Titan submersible wreckage scattered on the ocean floor. The footage includes debris like wires, gauges, and parts of the vessel, providing a visual confirmation of the damage.

5. Leading Sub Manufacturer: Titan "Not Ready for Primetime" Patrick Lahey, CEO of Triton, a leading submersible manufacturer, criticized Titan's design and safety measures. After touring the vessel, he expressed concern over its build quality, calling it "amateur-ish" and said it wasn’t sufficiently developed for such deep-sea missions.

It has been 20 years since the Kursk submarine sank in the Barents Sea, killing 118 men on board. This heartbreaking documentary shows how ordinary, patriotic, courageous men paid the ultimate price for incompetence, pride, and laziness in the Russian Navy. 

As may be obvious, the final 23 men in the 9th compartment died long before any rescue mission finally went underway (around 9-10 days later), having been outrageously delayed by arrogance and bald-faced deceit. The notes left by these men to their family as they realised that they had no chance of survival are especially heartrending. 

The shock and anger of Russians at this tragedy, which could have been mitigated through honesty and a quick response shows once again how the greatest victims of incompetence and corruption are ordinary Russians. Most sickeningly, President Putin decided to remain on holiday while men had died from a fire in the 9th compartment and if not that, eventual suffocation. 

He also did nothing as grief-stricken families were deceived for days on the situation, until the final blow struck as nothing could be done to save the men on board. 

This speaks volumes about the man who bills himself as a patriot, now trying to torture the Russian Constitution into providing himself another 16 years of power. Even now, some Russian medics claim the country is woefully unprepared to address another crisis, the new coronavirus.