U.S. Navy heard possible ‘implosion’ before Titan submersible was reported missing
Posted June 23, 2023 8:59 am.
The U.S. Navy has confirmed its acoustic sensors detected on Sunday “an anomaly consistent with an implosion” in the area where the doomed submersible Titan was operating several hours before the vessel was reported missing.
In an email, a senior U.S. Navy official says an analysis of the acoustic data was shared with the “unified command” leading the search for the vessel with five people aboard, the wreckage of which was discovered Thursday near the Titanic.
The navy official says the data was not definitive, and they confirmed it was considered with acoustic data provided by other partners in the search, which was led by the U.S. Coast Guard.
The official says the decision was made to continue with the search-and-rescue mission and “make every effort to save the lives on board.”
But that information wasn’t shared with the public until after the Titan’s wreckage was found and all five passengers were presumed dead.
The Canadian Armed Forces, which took part in the search, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Titan owner could use ‘cruel’ law for protection
A lawyer in California says a “cruel” piece of maritime law famously used by the owners of the Titanic to avoid costly litigation could be used by the owners of a small submersible that imploded on its way to the famous wreck.
Charles Naylor says OceanGate Expeditions, the company that owned the Titan submersible, can try to use the law to pre-emptively exonerate itself ahead of any possible legal action.
This photo provided by OceanGate Expeditions shows a submersible vessel named Titan used to visit the wreckage site of the Titanic. (OceanGate Expeditions via AP).
He said the company could file a suit under the United States 1850’s-era Limitation of Liability Act to limit its liability to the value of the remains of the vessel.
The owners of the Titanic used the law after the steamship smashed into an iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland in April 1912, killing more than 1,500 people
Naylor says if a company files an action to protect itself under the act, families have just two months to launch a challenge, which forces them to take on complicated legal procedures in the thick of their grief.
