“We do not remember the lessons of the ‘Titanic’. The arrogance and arrogance that sent that ship to its doom are the exact same ones that sent the occupants on the Titan submersible to their doom. And it breaks my heart, it’s heartbreaking that it was so avoidable“. The phrase was pronounced this Thursday James Cameronthe Canadian filmmaker who signed ‘titanic‘, and that since he began to investigate for that film in the 90s, he has been personally and business involved in the world of exploring the deep water.
He said it on CNN, in one of the many interviews he has offered after the confirmation of the tragedy. And in all the director has been shown strongly critical of OceanGate and its founder, Stockton Rushfor ignoring warnings about potential catastrophic design flaws in the submersible, which suffered a “catastrophic implosion” on Sunday as it descended toward the historic wreck, killing Rush and the four other occupants.
“Prolonged Farce”
Cameron had also been very critical of the “false hopes & rdquor; that have been given to the families of the crew throughout the week. And she has spoken of “a protracted and nightmarish farce with people talking about banging noisesand of oxygen and all these things & rdquor; in a statement to the BBC. “I knew perfectly well that it was futile & rdquor ;, he specified on CNN. “I was hoping I was wrong but I knew I wasn’t. And I feel horrible for the families that have had to go through all these false hopes that were being offered.”
Cameron explained why he was so certain. He found out about the disappearance the same Sunday, when he was sailing. For Mondayafter receiving more detailed information in a small group that he maintains with other people involved in underwater exploration, knew that the tragedy had occurredof which he highlighted “the similarity with the Titanic disaster”.
it had recorded a loud explosion in a hydrophone. They had Simultaneously lost communications and transponder, which helped the mother ship track the location of the Titan. “For me it was csufficient confirmation and I let all my close circle know that we had lost our comrades and I encouraged them to toast in their honor on Monday,” he explained.
ignored warnings
Cameron’s is an authoritative voice. She has a share in Triton Submarinesa company that makes submersibles for research and tourism, himself designed a small experimental ship with which in 2012 he personally descended into the challenger deep, the deepest known point in the hydrosphere, and is part of the industry of Manned Underwater Vehicles (MUVs). And has personally regretted not having raised his own alarm about the Titan long time.
When he found out that OceanGate was going to make the submersible with a helmet that combined carbon fiber and titanium thought it was “a horrible idea. I wish I had spoken, but I assumed someone was smarter than me, because I had never experimented with that technology, but it sounded bad at first,” he told Reuters.
The standard is to make pressurized vessels from materials such as steel, titanium, ceramic or acrylic, which are better for testing. And although the carbon fiber much is used in aerospace industry because it weighs much less than steel or aluminum,”It has no compressive strength” and it is not designed to withstand the enormous pressure in the depths, as indicated by Cameron to ‘The New York Times’.
His vision coincides with that of one of the OceanGate experts, who already warned in 2018 of the potential problems and the need for more tests. But the company, and Rush, chose to go ahead with their project, and not seek security certifications, something that also raised alarms from an external group of 38 experts, who wrote to the founder and CEO. And, as the filmmaker has said, “the critics were right that the combination of the elements would allow the ‘delaminated‘ and microscopic water leaks, that would lead over time to a progressive failure & rdquor ;.
The filmmaker charges with the person in charge of OceanGate
The filmmaker has also been very tough personally with Rushwho presumed to have been breaking rules and who criticized that the Regulations limit innovation. And he has agreed “in principle & rdquor; with this idea that you have to innovate and that regulations can slow you down, but he has stated that “You can’t take that stance when you put paying people in your submersible., when you have innocent guests who trust you in your statements & rdquor; about vehicle safety. Each ticket for the trip on the Titan cost 230,000 euros.
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With his own submersible for the Challenger he did not seek authorization, but it was a personal and investigative mission and Cameron has told the ‘Times’ that “I would never design a passenger vehicle and not certify it& rdquor ;.
The five deaths of Titan’s occupants are the first fatalities for the submersible industry. And the filmmaker wanted to highlight the similarities between this tragedy and that of the Titanic, whose captain ignored repeated warnings about the presence of ice and on a moonless night launched himself at full speed into the waters where he collided with an iceberg and sent the death to almost 1,500 people. “Has passed again. And in the same place. And now there is a wreck next to another for same damn reason& rdquor ;, he said.