On Thurday, debris from the Titan submersible built by the Everett-based OceanGate was found. All five occupants, including the company’s founder Stockton Rush, died.
Here is a timeline of the event’s leading up to the tragedy.
2009
Guillermo Söhnlein and Stockton Rush found OceanGate in Seattle in 2009. The business venture aims to create a fleet of commercial submersibles.
2015
OceanGate launches Cyclops 1. It’s the first submersible the company has built. The company moves from Seattle to the Port of Everett for the water access and space.
2016
An expedition aboard the Cyclops 1 visits the site of the SS Andrea Doria to get high-definition video and 3-D sonar images. It’s the first expedition to the shipwreck in 20 years.
2017
OceanGate announces plans to conduct commercial trips to the Titanic shipwreck. Due to complications, the first voyage is delayed for years.
2018
A former OceanGate employee files a lawsuit against the company raising safety concerns about the second submersible the company built named Titan. They later settle out of court.
2019
In a blog post, OceanGate criticizes the certification process for its vessel, calling it “anathema to rapid innovation.”
2021
The first trip aboard Titan to the Titanic is completed. OceanGate undertakes a total of 13 dives to the shipwreck from 2021 to 2022.
In December, the company displayed the submersible for the public to check out at the Port of Everett.
2023
June 16
Canadian Research Vessel Polar Prince sets off from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada to the site of the Titanic. The ship is carrying Titan and its five-person expedition, including Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani-British businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood.
June 18
Titan begins its descent to the shipwreck. Communications between the submersible and the surface vessel are lost after an hour and 45 minutes. Titan fails to re-surface at the scheduled time.
June 19-22
American and Canadian ships and planes search for the lost sub. Underwater sounds are detected, but no trace of Titan is found.
June 23
U.S. Coast Guard announce a debris field was found in the search area. The discovered materials indicate Titan lost pressure and imploded. None of the people on board survived.
June 28
The U.S. Coast Guard says it has likely recovered human remains from the wreckage of Titan and is bringing the evidence back to the United States. Recovered sub debris is photographed as it is unloaded at port in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
July 6
OceanGate’s website said that it “has suspended all exploration and commercial operations.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
