The Hollywood Reporter
Oscar-winning Titanic director James Cameron has weighed in on the Titan submersible tragedy that now appears to have claimed the lives of four passengers and its pilot.
Cameron told ABC News on Thursday: “I’m struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field on a moonless night and many died as a result. It’s a very similar tragedy at the exact same site. It’s astonishing and really quite surreal.”
Cameron noted he’s a submersible designer himself and that he understands the challenges of making one work and defended the practice of such dives as a whole.
“It’s absolutely critical for people to get the take-home message that deep submersible diving is a mature art,” Cameron said. “The safety record is the gold standard, absolutely, not only fatalities but no accidents. … Of course [what happened to the Titan is] the nightmare that we’ve all lived with, we’ve lived with it in the back of our minds.”
‘Titanic’ director James Cameron on the ‘catastrophic implosion’ of Titan submersible: “I’m struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field." pic.twitter.com/vO8JkCXS5f — ABC News (@ABC) June 22, 2023
“Many people in the community were concerned about this sub and even wrote letters to the company saying what they were doing was too experimental and what they were doing needed to be certified,” he continued.
Cameron’s box office hit Titanic heavily showcased footage of the actual wreck site and the use of submersibles to explore the remains of the ship.
The U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday the missing sub imploded near the wreckage site and that all five aboard were killed instantly.
The assessment was based on a search-and-rescue team finding debris from the Titan on the ocean floor.
Cameron added that he was personally close to one of the Titan passengers. “Paul-Henri Nargeolet, the legendary French pilot, is a friend of mine,” Cameron said. “It’s a very small community; I’ve known him for 25 years. For him to have died tragically in this way is almost impossible to process.”
The sub was operated by OceanGate Expeditions, whose CEO Stockton Rush is believed to be among the dead.
The sub was reported overdue Sunday afternoon and by Monday had become a global news story as rescue resources including ships, planes and undersea robots were rushed to North Atlantic. The sub had an estimated four days of backup oxygen supply, giving hope to the passengers’ families that they yet still be saved.
On Wednesday, banging sounds were picked up by sonar listening devices, adding to the hope that the “Titan five” might still be alive. But on Thursday, an undersea robot found pieces of the Titan near the Titanic wreck. The banging sounds are speculated to have been from noise generated by the Titanic wreck itself and the sub’s implosion likely occurred before the rescue operation had arrived on site.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
