Titan submersible implosion: Audio recording captures underwater thunderclap sound before silence
A recording has captured the moment the Titan submersible imploded during its ill-fated voyage to the Titanic wreck, the US Coast Guard has confirmed.
The audio, picked up by a passive acoustic recorder about 900 miles from the site, features a brief, staticky recording with a loud noise that sounds somewhat like an underwater thunderclap before falling silent for its remaining few seconds.
The coastguard described the clip as one that "records the suspected acoustic signature of the Titan submersible implosion" on June 18, 2023.
The disaster killed all five people on board: Titan operator and OceanGate founder Stockton Rush, British adventurer Hamish Harding, Titanic expert and pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood with his son, Suleman.
The submersible disappeared while en route to the Titanic wreck in the North Atlantic, triggering a five-day international search. Authorities later confirmed the vessel had been destroyed with no survivors.
Concerns were raised due to the Titan’s unconventional design and its creator’s refusal to undergo independent safety checks. Following the disaster, OceanGate, the Washington-based company that owned the submersible, suspended operations in July 2023.
Wreckage was eventually located on the ocean floor about 300 metres from the Titanic. A coastguard panel investigating the tragedy heard two weeks of testimony last September, including claims from a former OceanGate scientific director that the Titan had malfunctioned just days before the fatal dive.
Officials say the investigation remains ongoing and a final report will be released after it is completed.