The many ships that go down into the sunless deep seas for scientific exploration are powerful giants with proven engineering and a track record of safety.
But giantlost submersible from the company OceanGate, is a breakthrough technology based on novel concepts that differ from standard designs. Furthermore, unlike most deep sea vessels, the Titan has not been certified by a reputable marine group that does that licensing work for other ships, including those built by OceanGate that dive to the depths. shallower.
Bruce H. Robison, a senior marine biologist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California, who has explored the ocean’s depths with more than a dozen different types of submersibles, said: is taking a shortcut.
Alfred S. McLaren, a retired Navy submariner and honorary president of the Explorers Club of New York City, agrees. “I had three people ask me about diving there,” he said, referring to the missing sub. “And I said, ‘Don’t do that.’ I won’t do that in a million years.”
When asked to answer questions about Titan’s certification, a spokesperson for OceanGate said in an email, “We are unable to provide any further information at this time.”
As a class, submersibles dive for hours rather than days or months and rely on the mother ship for support, communication, crew food, and proper bedding and toilets. .
Whether believable old designs or more innovative new ones, all craftsmanship faces the crushing pressures of the abyss — on par with the resting place of the Titanic, three tons every square inch. As a result, they face stringent requirements for avoiding, if not ensuring, the safety of crew and equipment.
Private vessels – those used on superyachts, expedition ships, tourists – are not officially regulated by any governmental or intergovernmental agency. They also do not meet the rigorous standards applied to deep-sea vessels used by the United States Navy and other government agencies.
Even so, the best private submersibles have undergone extensive testing, certification and ratings for specific depths by organizations like Register of Lloyd, a British company specializing in the quality assessment of marine equipment for the marine industry. In the industry this is called grading.
Titan – 22 foot long submersible disappeared on sunday while diving to the Titanic — unlike most submersibles in that its passenger fuselage was made of two very different materials. It consists of a combination of carbon fiber and titanium, creating a craft significantly lighter than a submersible made primarily of steel or titanium, a lightweight, high strength metal.
Dr McLaren, who made two dives on a submersible to the Titanic, said the different types of materials used in the hull “raise structural concerns”. “They have different coefficients of expansion and compression, and that prevents the bond from being watertight.”
On its website, the owner of the submersible, OceanGate, a private company in Everett, Wash., speak The ship’s light weight as well as its launch and recovery platform significantly cut transportation and operating costs, making Titan “a more financially viable option for interested individuals.” to the exploration of the depths.” Even so, the cost for passengers on the Titanic dive is currently $250,000.
Titan’s novel construction features also make it non-certified, by company. OceanGate explains the unlicensed status (which the industry calls unclassified or uncertified) on its website as a reflection of the vessel’s advanced technologies, not a sign of Shortcuts or inadequacies may jeopardize safety.
“The vast majority of marine (and aeronautical) accidents are caused by operator error, not technical fault,” the company said. speak on its website. “As a result, focusing solely on vessel classification will not address operational risks. Maintaining a high level of operational safety requires constant effort, commitment and a focused corporate culture — two things that OceanGate takes very seriously and is not valued in the grading process.”
However, the company has said that one of its other submersibles has completed safety certification. anti-polar sank 1,000 feet, a tiny fraction of the Titanic’s depth, which is about two and a half miles. Like Titan, it has been used for tourist diving. Its certification has been done by US Department of Transportationa giant in the maritime industry based in Houston.
In an interview, Jennifer Mire, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Shipping, said the company has not made any reviews of the larger submersible. “We don’t have any connection with Titan,” she said.
OceanGate, in explaining Titan’s lack of certification on its website, said that groups such as Lloyd’s Register and the U.S. Bureau of Shipping “often have multi-year approval cycles due to the lack of available standards, particularly , such as in the case of many of OceanGate’s innovations, such as carbon fiber pressure vessels and real-time hull health monitoring systems.”
Dr McLaren said the company’s argument was unconvincing and the innovative nature of the craft made the certification even more important. Knowing it wasn’t certified was enough to make him “run in the opposite direction,” he said.
Submarine Tritonan American company produces creative submersible with a transparent hull that gives passengers a bird’s-eye view of the abyss, calling the vehicle certificate one of the company’s founding principles.
“We are proud that every submersible delivered is still operational and certified to the original design depth,” it said. said on the company’s website. “Every finished Triton is certified.”
