HALIFAX — Newly released video contains a sound investigators believe is the moment the Titan submersible imploded as it dove on the wreck of the Titanic nearly two years ago.
The June 18, 2023 implosion claimed the lives of five people, including OceanGate Expeditions CEO Stockton Rush, who was pilot of the submersible.
In the video submitted to the United States Coast Guard by OceanGate , Rush’s wife, Wendy Rush, and Gary Foss — both members of the submersible’s tracking team — are shown in front of computer screens in the pilothouse of Titan’s support vessel Polar Prince.
Shortly into the video a noise can be heard, prompting Wendy Rush to turn to Foss and say: “What was that bang?”
She gives a quizzical smile as the pair continue to monitor the screens in front of them, seemingly unaware of the significance of the noise. Seconds after the sound, Wendy Rush acknowledges receiving a text message showing the submersible had dropped two of its weights as it descended.
“Titan dropped two weights,” she radioed to the rest of the monitoring team.
The video — first reported by BBC — was posted Thursday on a U.S. Defense Department website.
“A sound heard at the 24-second mark, later correlated with the loss of communications and tracking believed to be the sound of Titan’s implosion reaching the surface of the ocean,” an accompanying caption from the U.S. Coast Guard says.
The coast guard’s Marine Board of Investigation held public hearings into the disaster last year, with a final report expected later this year. Canada’s Transportation Safety Board has also been investigating because Polar Prince is a Canadian-flagged vessel based in Newfoundland.
The TSB has said there were 17 crew members and 24 people on board the Polar Prince when five people boarded Titan and submerged toward Titanic — the fabled ship’s wreckage lies about 700 kilometres southeast of Newfoundland.
About one hour and 45 minutes later, the support vessel lost contact. The trip to the bottom usually takes about two hours.
The search and rescue mission that followed drew worldwide attention and resulted in the Titan’s wreckage being found on the ocean floor about 300 metres off the bow of the Titanic. The wreckage was lifted to the surface and later taken to port in St. John’s, N.L.
In addition to Rush, the passengers who died in the tragedy were British billionaire Hamish Harding, French explorer and Titanic expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2025.
Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press
