The U.S. Navy Reportedly Detected The Titan Submersible’s Implosion Hours After Its Descent

Within hours of the Titan submersible‘s descent into the ocean to explore the Titanic wreckage, the U.S. Navy identified a potential implosion.

According to a U.S. defense official, the Navy promptly initiated surveillance of the Titan as soon as the submersible lost communication with the mother ship, roughly an hour and 45 minutes into the mission. As per the official’s statement, the Navy’s highly classified acoustic detection system detected sounds in the vicinity of the Titan’s location on Thursday. These sounds were consistent with either an explosion or an implosion.

The Navy shared this information with the Coast Guard, which took over the search operations. The Navy, however, did not regard the data as conclusive, leading the Coast Guard to continue its efforts.

“While not definitive, this information was immediately shared with the Incident Commander to assist with the ongoing search and rescue mission,” the official said.

Around one hour and 45 minutes into its dive, the Titan submersible lost communication with its surface vessel, the Polar Prince. On board the submersible were OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British businessman Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, as well as Paul-Henry Nargeolet, a former French navy officer and renowned Titanic expert.

On Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard officially confirmed that the debris field discovered earlier in the day was indeed the missing Titan submersible.

“On behalf of the U.S. Coast Guard and the entire unified command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families,” U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said.