James Cameron, the director of the movie Titanic, recently spoke to the BBC about the submersible that imploded and caused the loss of five lives. He criticized the company that built the submersible, OceanGate, for cutting corners and not getting certified because they knew they wouldn’t pass.
Cameron has completed 33 submersible dives to the Titanic wreck and has used different technology for his expeditions.
The Titan sub was built from carbon fiber and titanium. It was not certified, but this is not mandatory. In a blog post about it in 2019, the company said the way that Titan had been designed fell outside the accepted system. However, it added that the classification agencies slowed down innovation.
Cameron said that when he learned the sub had lost both its navigation and communication at the same time, he immediately suspected a disaster. He felt that the sub’s electronics and communication system failing simultaneously meant that the sub was gone. He also said that the past week had felt like a prolonged and nightmarish charade where people were talking about banging noises and oxygen.
Cameron emphasized that anyone venturing to the Titanic wreck should be fully aware of the risks. He said that it’s a very dangerous site and that people should agree to those risks. However, he also said that there shouldn’t be any risks in the 21st century. He believes that the submersible company should have informed people about the risks of the actual platform that they’re diving in.
Cameron believes that the loss of lives was preventable. He hopes that people will learn from this tragedy and take necessary precautions to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
By; Eghosa-Osawe Jr.
