CBS News reporter David Pogue, who spent $250,000 (VND5.9 billion) on a tour of the Titanic wreck on the Titan submersible, which disappeared on June 18 off the coast of southeastern Canada, said the submersible had "mechanical problems" during the trip, Express reported.
Speaking about his experience on the Titan last year, Mr. Pogue told NewsNation on June 19 that the ship “kept having mechanical problems.” At that time, while diving to a depth of 11 meters, the ship had a mechanical problem and was forced to surface. The problem prevented him from reaching his desired destination. “I never got to see the Titanic,” he said.
Titan Submarine
Mr Pogue described the Titan submersible as the size of a small truck, carrying five people, and it usually took 10-12 hours to reach the depths of the Titanic wreck. The ship had no seats inside and everyone squatted on the floor.
Mr. Pogue told NewsNation that the missing Titan submersible was a "homemade product" of the US company OceanGate Expeditions. However, he said such incidents are not limited to OceanGate Expeditions vessels. "There are about five of them in the world , and all of them have had some kind of mechanical and electrical problems," Mr. Pogue said.
US, Canada try to find submarine carrying billionaire who went missing while diving to visit Titanic wreck
Mr Pogue said the Titan had about seven different ways to get back to the surface, but did not elaborate. However, he warned that if the ship were lost in the ocean, there would only be one of two scenarios. One was that it got caught in something like a large fishing net or even part of the Titanic. The other was that the ship was leaking, in which case it would explode immediately.
According to Mr Pogue, there are only three operational submarines in the world that can dive to the depths of the Titanic, so finding the submersible is not the only challenge. Instead, bringing it back to the surface and helping those inside escape are the major obstacles.
“The hatch is sealed with 17 bolts from the outside. So there is no way to escape once you are inside,” Mr Pogue warned.
OceanGate Expeditions said it was “exploring and mobilizing all options to safely return the crew,” noting that the Titan was designed to allow passengers to survive for 96 hours.
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