en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OceanGate
2 corrections found
The viewport was rated to only 650 m (2,130 ft)
This understates the rating of the final Titan’s viewport. The NTSB’s final report says the Titan that imploded used a viewport certified to 1,000 meters, while the 650-meter figure refers to an earlier/original viewport discussion.
Full reasoning
The post states that Titan’s viewport was rated to only 650 m. But the NTSB’s final report on the actual final Titan pressure vessel (v2) says the forward dome included a viewing port constructed of an acrylic window certified to 1,000 meters (3,281 feet), and that this viewing port was reused on the replacement hull built for 2021–2023 operations.
So the 650 m figure does not accurately describe the final Titan that imploded in 2023. Reporting from the 2024 hearings indicates that 650 m was the rating associated with an earlier/original viewport provided for OceanGate’s first hull. That makes the Wikipedia sentence misleading as written: it attributes the lower figure to Titan generally, instead of distinguishing between the earlier viewport discussion and the final viewport installed on the submersible used on the Titanic expeditions.
2 sources
- Hull Failure and Implosion of Submersible Titan (NTSB final report)
The forward dome included a viewing port constructed of an acrylic window certified to 1,000 meters (3,281 feet)... The segments, domes, and viewing port had been built for the v1 pressure vessel and were reused with the replacement v2 composite cylinder.
- NTSB spots flaws in hull of Oceangate’s Titan submersible and focuses on a bang
William Kohnen, CEO and founder of Hydrospace Group, said the viewport that his company provided for OceanGate’s first hull was rated for use at a maximum depth of 2,150 feet (650 meters), but not for the Titanic depth of 12,600 feet (3,840 meters).
after the original had cracked after 50 dives
The official NTSB report does not support “cracked after 50 dives.” It says the first full-scale Titan pressure vessel completed 49 dives total, and the crack was noticed after dive 48.
Full reasoning
The NTSB’s final report gives a specific dive count for the first full-scale Titan pressure vessel:
- OceanGate completed 49 dives with the v1 pressure vessel between February 2018 and August 2019.
- The report says that after dive 48, while preparations were underway for another dive, an OceanGate employee noticed a hairline fracture in the pressure-vessel cylinder.
- OceanGate then attempted one more dive (dive 49) in Everett, but that dive was aborted because of a launch-and-recovery issue.
So the hull was not first found cracked “after 50 dives.” The official record says the crack was discovered after dive 48, with only 49 dives total listed for the original full-scale pressure vessel.
1 source
- Hull Failure and Implosion of Submersible Titan (NTSB final report)
Between February 2018 and June 2019, OceanGate completed 49 dives of the Titan v1 pressure vessel... after dive 48, while making preparations for a dive, an OceanGate employee noticed a hairline fracture... OceanGate shipped the Titan back to Washington and attempted one dive (dive 49) in Everett Marina, but the dive was aborted.