Discovery Channel presenter refused to go on Titanic sub

2023-06-22

A Discovery Channel presenter who refused to go on the Titan submersible that went missing has said they refused to go on the sub.

Josh Gates, the host of Expedition Unknown, revealed on Twitter that he turned down the opportunity to visit the Titanic using the submersible.

Mr Gates wrote: “I had the unique opportunity to dive in the OceanGate Titan sub with [company CEO] Stockton [Rush] at the helm in preparation for its maiden mission to Titanic.”

The Titan submersible went missing on Sunday morning as it embarked on an expedition to the famous wreck.

Following the discovery of a debris field, it has been confirmed that the vessel was lost in a catastrophic event.

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Mr Gates wrote: “To those asking, Titan did not perform well on my dive. Ultimately, I walked away from a huge opportunity to film Titanic due to my safety concerns with the OceanGate platform.

“There’s more to the history and design of Titan that has not been made public — much of it concerning.

“To those questioning why people would dive to Titanic: the ship has fascinated the world since the night she sank,

“It’s a time capsule to another era of our history. It takes courage to make a trip like this. Admiration and prayers for the passengers aboard OceanGate Titan.”

Mr Gates’s tweets came hours before an ROV (remotely operated vehicle) found a debris field with pieces of Titan.

During the US Coast Guards’ latest update, an undersea expert said there were five major pieces of debris that signalled their ROV had found the Titan.

They said: “Essentially we found five different major pieces of debris that told us it was the remains of the Titan.

“The initial thing we found was the nosecone, we then found a large debris field, and within that large debris field, we found the front end bell of the pressure hull, that was the first indication that there was a catastrophic event.

“Shortly thereafter, we found a second smaller debris field, within that debris field we found the other end of the pressure hull, the aft end bell which basically comprised the totality of that vessel.”

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They added: “We continued to map the debris field and we will do the best we can to fully map out what’s down there.”

Shortly before the press conference, Oceangate, which operated the Titan released a statement. They said: “We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost.

“These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans.

“Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.”

They added: “We continued to map the debris field and we will do the best we can to fully map out what’s down there.”

“These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans.

“Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.”

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