All the wreckage of the tourist submarine Titan, which was recovered from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean at a depth of almost four kilometers, has been brought to the shore, the BBC writes.
The amount of materials brought ashore shows that it was possible to recover important parts. They may help investigators uncover the true cause of the implosion that killed all five passengers on the 18th of June.
In Saint John port, dock workers tried to cover up the wreckage of the submarine, but the media managed to identify some elements. One of the most recognizable was the titanium bow of the cylinder-shaped carbon fiber submarine. The hole in the middle of it, now shaped like a donut, was where the watercraft’s porthole was.
The hook of the road crane had been extended through the window when the debris was being moved, and it is unknown what happened to the acrylic window. Specialists have already
expressed concern about its durability and asked questions about the material’s ability to withstand pressure
at a depth of four kilometers.
Parts that look like titanium flanges have also been brought ashore. They were located at both ends of the cylinder-shaped hull and connected to the ends of the submarine. They and the connections to the carbon fiber parts will be the focus of an investigation by US and Canadian authorities. Blair Thornton, a professor at the University of Southampton in the UK, said: “I think the key parts to look at are the interface between the acrylic window and the titanium, hemispherical domes, or end caps; and also the area where the carbon fibre would have been bonded to the titanium flanges.” He told the BBC that the fact that the parts had been obtained was the best the investigation could hope for.
Several more bags of debris were lifted from the deck of the Horizon Arctic. If they also have carbon fiber body parts, investigators will want to check for any visible signs that the carbon fiber layers have started to separate, especially at the joints with the titanium flanges.
One of the biggest highlights is the front equipment compartment. Although it is covered by a cone when diving, it is essentially an open cage and it was clear that
it had suffered serious damage when it was pulled from the sub.
An antenna that connected the submarine to a satellite network when it was above water was also lifted from the ocean. The antenna had a separate power supply, and the fact that reports from this antenna were no longer received after the Titan landed in the ocean was an indication that the submarine didn’t resurface.
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