Tragic Titan implosion: Challenges of ocean exploration

Lt Col Nazmul Huda Khan, MPhil, MPH :

Several days have been passed since tragic Titan implosion, the widely discussed submersible that was visiting the Titanic wreckage, killing all five people who were on board. In 1985, the wreck of the Titanic was located on the ocean floor, around 740 km from the coast of Newfoundland of Canada. The wreck lies at a depth of about 3,810 meters at sea pressure over 5800 pounds per square inch (psi) which is 400 times the pressure at sea level. Since its discovery, it has been a destination for research expeditions and tourism. In 2012, the wreckage became a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Titan a diving submersible, was a five-person vessel operated by OceanGate Inc. The 22 ft longand10,432 kg vessel was constructed from carbon fiber and titanium. OceanGate claimed that, the model was able to sustain a pressure, corresponding to a sea depth of about 4,000 m. The vessel had life support for five people for 96 hours; the support ship, which monitored the position of Titan relative to its target, sent text messages to Titan providing distances and directions. They have conducted five Titanic excursions during the summer of 2021 and five excursions during the summer of 2022 with Titan.
James Cameron, who has directed the film Titanic, visited its wreckage site 33 times criticized after the accident that, the choice of carbon-fibre composite construction of the pressure vessel was not ideal. The hull should be made out of contiguous materials like steel, titanium, ceramicor acrylic.
According to Dave Corley, a former US nuclear submarine officer, when a submersible hull collapses, it moves inward at about 1,500mph that’s 671mper second. The time required for complete collapse is about one millisecond. When the hull collapses, the air auto-ignites and an explosion follows the initial rapid implosion. Human bodies incinerate and are turned to ash and dust instantly. On the basis of this statement, we can easily guess the aftermath of the passengers on board Titan.
Following accident, the search and rescue operation has been conducted by an international team led by the United States Coast Guard reveals that, the pieces of Titan has been found on the sea floor about 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic, but didn’t confirm whether the dead bodies of those on board would be recovered. However, details will be perceived once investigation is completed.
As a species, humans are naturally inquisitive – curiosity, desire for knowledge and quest for adventure motivate modern explorers even today. But human physiology is competent with earth surface and not compatible under sea pressure. Underwater diving is an exhilarating activity that allows individuals to explore the beauty of the underwater world. However, it is challenging for human being. The single most important challenge of underwater diving is that, the pressure of the water increases as the depth increases, which can cause serious health problems for divers. At a depth of 10 meters, the pressure is twice that of the sea surface (at sea surface pressure is 14.7 psi). At a depth of 20 meters, the pressure is three times that of the surface. At a depth of 30 meters, the pressure is four times that of the surface and so on. The depth of the ocean varies, with some areas reaching depths of over 11,000 meters. The pressure over there is about 8 tons or over 15,000 psi.
In the contemporary era, ocean exploration has been extended with the inclusion of advance technology, techniques, equipment throughout the timeline of diving technology, those foster us to explore the ocean by manifold. Diving using specially designed submersibles in the most extreme diving environments in darkest bottom of the ocean having a depth of 3-7 km with over 4 – 8 tons sea pressure per square inch is the most expensive one. There are abundant adverse impacts of sea pressure on human body. The high sea pressure causes compression of the lungs, leading to difficulty in breathing; it also causes decompression sickness, commonly known as the bends, symptoms of which include joint pain, fatigue, shortness of breath etc. Hypothermia is another physical impact of diving, especially in cold water. The body loses heat faster in water and metabolic processes slowdown. The diver can also suffer from high pressure nervous syndrome (HPNS), which can cause tremors, nausea and dizziness, among other symptoms.
Oxygen toxicity is a danger associated with breathing high concentrations of oxygen during dive, which can cause seizures and other serious medical problems. Another risk associated with diving is narcosis, also known as nitrogen narcosis. This occurs when a diver descends to depths greater than 100 feet and experiences an altered state of consciousness. Symptoms can include impaired judgment, confusion and euphoria. At extreme depths, the pressure can crush the human body, causing severe injuries or even death. The brain is particularly vulnerable to the effects of pressure to cause brain damage.
Exploring ocean is, therefore, a dangerous activity, especially when divers venture into challenging sites such as cave and wreck dives are particularly risky due to the overhead environment. In these dives, divers are often enclosed in tight spaces with limited visibility. Only proper training, equipment and following safety guidelines can prevent challenges and ensure a safe and effective underwater diving experience. There are several safety measures that divers usually strictly comply before and during a dive to ensure a safe event. These include:
· Checking equipment before diving to ensure that, it is in good working condition.
· Planning the dive and communicating the plan with other divers.
· Diving with a partner and keeping track of each other during the dive.
· Monitoring depth and time underwater to prevent decompression sickness.
· Preparation to deal with emergencies such as equipment failure, decompression sickness and other medical issues that can arise during a dive.
· Following established safety procedures, such as ascending slowly and performing safety stops.
· Arrangement of deck decompression chamber (DDC) should be there for recompression therapy to treat all such cases.

[The writer is graduated from Naval Diving & Salvage Training Centre, USA, now Head and Consultant, Underwater Medicine Unit, Kuwait Naval Force (On Deputation), Kuwait]