“Titanic” Director James Cameron Says There’s “No Excuse” For Titan Submersible Disaster

If anyone has some knowledge about exploring the wreckage of the “Titanic”, it’s “Titanic” movie director James Cameron. He’s visited the wreckage 30 times and says he predicted Monday that the Titan submersible had imploded. He called the search a “prolonged nightmarish charade”, and insisted there were concerns about the vessel voiced before the excursion. The “catastrophic implosion” was actually heard Sunday by secret U.S. Navy underwater microphones.

Cameron says he was struck by the parallels to the Titanic disaster in that the captain was warned ahead of time of the danger, but proceeded full steam ahead. OceanGate was warned of safety concerns in letters from the deep submergence community saying “you are going on a path to catastrophe”.

On board the sub were Hamish Harding, 58, a British aviator who has set world records; British businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son, Suleman; Stockton Rush, 61, CEO of OceanGate, which runs the Titanic voyages; and Paul-Henry Nargeolet, 77, a former French Navy diver who is the director of underwater research for the company that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic.

Here’s another “Titanic” connection: the sub pilot’s wife was a descendent of a couple who died on the Titanic rather than be separated.