June 22, 2023: 3:10 p.m.: Rear Admiral John Mauger revealed that the team does not anticipate recovery of any of the crew members. He also believes that the submersible did not collide with the Titanic wreck itself.
The Coast Guard also commented that the area around the debris field is smooth, and it's not believed that the implosion of the submersible impacted the ship wreckage in any physical way.
Paul Hanken, an undersea expert, explained, "The initial thing we found was the nose cone … then we found a large debris field. Within that large debris field, we found the front end bell of the pressure hull. That was the first indication that there was a catastrophic event.
"Shortly after, we found a second smaller debris field within that debris field. We found the other end of the press hull that … basically comprised of the totality of that pressure chamber …
"We will do our best to fully map out what’s down there."
John Mauger shared that none of the buoys in the water detected the implosion.
Going forward, the focus is on the families of those who were lost. As Mauger noted, the hope is to give the families "an understanding as best as we can provide of what happened and begin to find some closure." He added that the Coast Guard will continue to investigate the area of the debris field in order to gather as much information as possible while governments of numerous countries are deciding how to move forward, considering the location of the implosion and the various geographic homes of the those who were onboard.
There is currently no timeline for when operations will cease.
June 22, 2023: 3 p.m.: The US Coast Guard has confirmed that the debris found at the Titanic wreckage site is from the missing submersible. There are no survivors of the accident.
Rear Admiral John Mauger told reporters that the tail cone of the submersible was found 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic. He added that the debris found is "consistent with a catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber. Upon this determination, we immediately notified the families on behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command. I offer my deepest condolences to the families."
OceanGate has also released a statement confirming the news. The statement reads:
“We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost.
“These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans. Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.
“This is an extremely sad time for our dedicated employees who are exhausted and grieving deeply over this loss. The entire OceanGate family is deeply grateful for the countless men and women from multiple organizations of the international community who expedited wide-ranging resources and have worked so very hard on this mission.
“We appreciate their commitment to finding these five explorers, and their days and nights of tireless work in support of our crew and their families.
“This is a very sad time for the entire explorer community, and for each of the family members of those lost at sea.
“We respectfully ask that the privacy of these families be respected during this most painful time.”
June 22, 2023: 2:58 p.m.: A briefing from the US Coast Guard will begin at 3 p.m. EST. The live video is below.
June 22, 2023: 2:10 p.m.: The company whose ROV found the debris field near the Titanic has reportedly expressed its concern for the families of those who were onboard. As reported by The Guardian, Sky News has reported that the company's website posted a message that has since been deleted.
The message read: "PRS want to express our full gratitude for the incredible, coordinated rescue response of everyone involved in this search and rescue mission. Our focus right now is on the families of those on the Titan and for their tragic loss."
There has been no official statement yet.
Guillermo Söhnlein, who cofounded OceanGate, has told the BBC that it's possible there was an "instantaneous implosion" that killed everyone on board. He said, "What I do know is regardless of the sub, when you’re operating at depth the pressure is so great on any sub that if there is a failure it would be an instantaneous implosion. If that’s what happened that’s what would have happened four days ago."
June 22, 2023: 1:30 p.m.: David Mearns also told Sky News that the debris field discovered near the search site includes the "landing frame" and "rear cover" of the missing submersible. While this information has not been been independently confirmed, Mearns says he was in a WhatsApp chat with The Explorers Club and the information was shared there.
June 22, 2023: 1 p.m.: David Mearns, a rescue expert and good friend of Hamish Harding and Paul-Henri Nargeolet — who are both onboard the missing submersible — does not believe the outcome will be good.
As he told Sky News, "A debris field implies there’s a break up of the submersible and at that depth, because we know that they lost communications at around 3,300m … so that really indicates what is the worst case scenario which is a catastrophic failure, an implosion."
More specifically, he also said that the US Coast Guard would not "use phrases like debris field unless there’s no chance of recovery of the men alive."
June 22, 2023: 12:44 p.m.: A friend of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush has revealed that Stockton emailed him about the "very, very bad" weather conditions a day before the submersible was launched.
Arthur Loibl, who traveled on the Titan submersible in 2021, said that he and Stockton were emailing on Saturday, June 18. He also detailed his own trip and shared that the only light available during the descent and ascent is a glow stick. Arthur told The Washington Post, "Nobody told you what happened if the sub got lost because you’re not thinking of this. This way of diving down there has to be stopped forever."
June 22, 2023, 11:48 a.m.: The US Coast Guard has tweeted that a remote-operated vehicle has found a debris field near the Titanic. Few details have been shared other than the debris field is also within the search area for the missing Titan submersible.
The Coast Guard tweeted, "A debris field was discovered within the search area by an ROV near the Titanic. Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information."
