“All is well here”: Coast Guard reveals final messages from submersible Titan before implosion

One of the last messages sent by the doomed submersible Titan during its voyage to the wreck of the Titanic in June 2023 was “all good here,” according to a presentation at a U.S. Coast Guard hearing on the fatal implosion.

The U.S. Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation's two-week hearing into the incident began Monday, 15 months after the catastrophic implosion of the ship OceanGate during its deep-sea voyage, killing all five people on board.

An animation created by the Coast Guard during Monday's hearing showed text communications between the Titan and the surface vessel Polar Prince as the submersible sank to the sea floor on June 18, 2023. The short text messages were the only means of communication between the Titan's crew and the Polar Prince's personnel as the ship attempted to reach the Titanic, which lies 12,500 feet below sea level.

According to the animation, at an altitude of around 2,274 meters, Titan sent the message “Everything is fine here.”

The submersible's last message was sent from a depth of about 3,341 meters: “Two WTS dropped,” which means drop weights, according to the Coast Guard.

According to the Coast Guard, all communication and tracking signals from the submersible to the Polar Prince were lost at a depth of 3,346 meters.

Four days later, debris from the Titan was found on the seabed. All five crew members – including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush – had died in a catastrophic implosion.

During Monday's hearing, the Coast Guard released a new image showing debris from the Titan, including the stern cone, on the sea floor.

Tym Catterson, a former OceanGate contractor, testified during Monday's hearing that there were “no warning flags” on the day of the incident. He said he believed the intention of dropping the two 35-pound weights was to slow the ship as it approached the sea floor. He believes the weight was dropped a little earlier than usual – not because of an emergency, but to ensure a soft landing, he said.

“Considering who was in the taxi with Stockton at the time – there were two billionaires – I can absolutely guarantee that he is trying to make sure this thing is as perfect and as accurate as possible,” Catterson said.

He said that when tracking and communication were lost, it was initially thought that the transponder had failed. When rescue workers heard popping noises as they searched for the ship, they thought the vessel was drifting.

“These were all theories floating around among people who hadn't slept at all and were very anxious,” he said. “This is the worst thing that could have happened.”

2 witnesses say they would not go into the Titan

About two dozen witnesses are expected to testify during the two-week hearing.

The hearing's first witness, Tony Nissen, OceanGate's former chief technical officer, testified that he was kept in the dark and did not know that OceanGate's goal when he was hired was to go to the Titanic.

When asked if he felt comfortable going down to the Titanic in the first prototype submersible, Nissen replied that Rush had asked him to pilot the Titanic missions and he had declined.

“I told him I wasn't going to take part,” said Nissen. “He asked me why, and I said, 'Because I don't trust the emergency team.'”

“He said, 'And what if I'm mission leader?'” Nissen continued. “I said, 'You still have the same task force.' But I didn't trust Stockton either. Look at where we started and when I was hired, none of what I got was the truth.”

Catterson also testified that he did not feel comfortable taking the ship into the depths of the Titanic wreck because he had doubts about the integrity of the carbon fiber and titanium construction.

“I don't think composites are the right material for a pressure vessel that is subject to external compression,” he said. “I had my doubts.”

When asked if he ever raised his concerns with OceanGate employees, he said he told Rush, Nissen and David Lochridge, OceanGate's former chief operating officer – “pretty much anyone who would listen.”

Catterson said he raised the issue of the carbon fiber hull integrity with Rush “no less than half a dozen times.” He said he thought the submarine was “under-engineered” and that Rush responded to his concerns by saying, “I have several engineers working on it and they say otherwise.”

Bonnie Carl, the company's former finance director and former OceanGate contractor, testified Monday that she knew of a conversation between Lochridge and Renata Rojas, a mission specialist, in which Lochridge instructed Rojas not to go on the Titan because it was “unsafe.”

Titanium not classified

It is common for submersibles to be classified, but both Catterson and Nissen testified that the Titan had not been classified. Catterson talked about recommending a classification for the boat to Rush.

“The reason for the classification is essentially that it is proof of due diligence. It is also primarily one of the ways to get insurance for the dive boats. That is one of the really big things,” he said. “I had explained that [Rush]and he, well, I guess it wasn't as much of a concern to him as it is to most people. I don't know, I've said what I have to say.”

According to a Coast Guard presentation during Monday's hearing, the Titan was tested at 1.09 times its operating pressure – the industry standard is 1.25 times.

The Coast Guard and witnesses also described in detail the problems and concerns associated with the submarine.

According to the Coast Guard, there were 70 ship equipment issues that required repair in 2021, and 48 more will occur in 2022.

According to the Coast Guard, the Titan partially sank four weeks before the incident after a night of high seas and fog. Days before the implosion, passengers were thrown against the ship when they surfaced, the Coast Guard said.

Nissen testified that he believed the Titan was struck by lightning in April 2018. Jason Neubauer, chairman of the Marine Board of Investigation, clarified during Tuesday's hearing that Nissen was referring to a prototype carbon fiber hull that was not used in Titanic missions.

Nissen also testified that he would not approve a dive to the Titanic in July 2019 because the submarine's hull had a crack, and said he was fired as a result. Neubauer further clarified during Tuesday's hearing that Nissen was again referring to the prototype hull, which the chairman said was no longer used after 2019.

Carl said she was concerned about some of the staff working on OceanGate's submersibles.

“There were some young engineers – and by young I mean late teens, early 20s – with no experience whatsoever, as far as we knew, working on the submarine, with no supervision,” she said. “And that made me nervous.”

Hearing lasts two weeks

The hearing is scheduled to last until Sept. 27. Former OceanGate employees scheduled to testify later in the hearing include Lochridge, co-founder Guillermo Sohnlein and Steven Ross, former chief scientific officer, according to a schedule released by the Coast Guard.

The main purpose of the hearing is to uncover the facts surrounding the implosion and make recommendations, Neubauer said.

“The Marine Board's investigation will determine as accurately as possible the factors that contributed to the incident so that appropriate recommendations can be made to prevent similar accidents,” Neubauer said at the start of the hearing on Monday.

The investigation will also examine whether there is any evidence of misconduct or criminal offenses in connection with the incident, he said.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is also investigating the implosion and will make its own determination on the probable cause, said Marcel Muise, an investigator with the agency's Office of Marine Safety.

Lawyers of the Debevoise law firm & Plimpton, representing OceanGate, are also attending the hearing.

“There are no words that can ease the loss suffered by the families of this tragic incident, but we hope this hearing will help shed light on the cause of the tragedy and prevent something like this from happening again,” said Jane Shvets of Debevoise. & Plimpton said during the opening speech.

In addition to Rush, the victims of the implosion included French explorer Paul Henri Nargeolet, British businessman Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman.

The submersible company suspended all exploration and commercial activities following the fatal implosion.