“All good here.”
These were among the final words the doomed Titan submersible crew transmitted before the tragic implosion that claimed the lives of all five crew members on a voyage to the Titanic wreckage in June 2023. This final communication was disclosed during a Coast Guard hearing on Monday, part of a broader investigation into the fatal mission.
The brief message was relayed to the support vessel Polar Prince on June 18, shortly before all contact was lost and the sub imploded. At the time, the global public held its breath as rescue teams scrambled, unaware that the crew had already perished.
In the Monday hearing, the Coast Guard shared a chilling animated reenactment of the Titan’s final descent, detailing the last, fragmented exchanges between the crew and the Polar Prince. The reenactment revealed the support ship attempted multiple times to communicate with the sub. At around 10 a.m., Polar Prince asked the Titan crew if they could see the support vessel on the submersible’s display, asking the same question seven times over seven minutes. The Titan responded with “k,” requesting a communication check, before Polar Prince repeated its question three more times and wrote, “I need better comms from you.” The crew finally responded with “yes” and then, “All good here” at 10:14 a.m. Just over 30 minutes later, at 10:47 a.m., all communication ceased.
Among those lost in the tragic incident were Stockton Rush, 61, OceanGate’s founder; Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, a French explorer; Hamish Harding, 58, a British adventurer; and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, along with his 19-year-old son, Suleman.
During Monday’s proceedings, the Coast Guard presented findings suggesting that the Titan faced repeated technical issues well before its fateful Titanic voyage. Test dives in 2021 revealed 70 equipment problems, while the following year saw an additional 48 reported issues, including malfunctions in the drop-weight system. Even more concerning, between the last test dive in 2022 and February 2023, the submersible was left exposed at a dock, with no protection from the elements.
Tony Nissen, OceanGate’s former engineering director, testified before the panel, shedding light on the company’s internal operations and escalating concerns. Nissen explained that when he joined the company, he wasn’t informed of plans to take the sub to the Titanic site, saying, “I was never told they were going to the Titanic.” He went on to describe Rush, saying, “Stockton would fight for what he wanted…most people would eventually back down.”
Nissen also revealed that the submersible suffered a lightning strike in 2018, partially damaging the hull. In 2019, after noticing inconsistencies in acoustic tests that suggested the hull could be compromised, Nissen refused to approve an expedition to the Titanic site. When he declined to sign off, he was subsequently terminated, telling the panel, “I wouldn’t sign off on it. So I got terminated.” When asked if there was “pressure” to commence operations, Nissen responded, “100 percent.”
The Coast Guard is probing the circumstances surrounding the tragedy, with Marine Board of Investigation Chair Jason Neubauer stating they aim to identify contributing factors and establish safeguards to prevent future incidents. They’re also examining if “misconduct, negligence, or willful violations of the law” played a role in the disaster. This two-week inquiry will additionally review the Coast Guard’s own search and rescue efforts.
Following the hearing, it was clarified that Nissen’s concerns had focused on a prototype carbon fiber hull made in 2016, which OceanGate ultimately replaced in 2019 with a new carbon fiber hull used in later Titanic expeditions.
