Photos from the Titan sub wreckage support cause of implosion theory

Freshly unveiled images from the submerged remains of the Titan sub indicate additional validation for the implosion hypothesis.

On Thursday (June 22), the US Coast Guard declared the Titan vessel's "catastrophic implosion" following the discovery of debris near the Titanic wreck site off the shores of Newfoundland, Canada.

The sub lost communication with its main ship on Sunday (June 18) while venturing to investigate the Titanic wreck. Watch a simulation of the implosion by clicking here: [insert link].

All five individuals aboard the vessel, namely OceanGate CEO and co-founder Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French diver and Titanic expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet, and father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, tragically lost their lives due to the 'catastrophic implosion.'

Recently, photographs and videos of the debris from the Titan submersible were made public, and an expert claims that they provide evidence supporting the hypothesis that the vessel's carbon-fiber hull was the cause of its devastating implosion.

Jasper Graham-Jones, an associate professor in Mechanical & Marine Engineering at Plymouth University, carefully analyzed the footage and photos taken before the wreckage was transported for further examination.

According to Graham-Jones, while it is 'impossible' to draw a definitive conclusion solely from the photographs, the 'most probable' scenario is that the immense pressure of the ocean depths caused the carbon-fiber hull of the vessel to fail.

Alternatively, another theory suggests that the initial failure occurred at the small front viewport of the Titan.

The photographs reveal that the structural titanium rings of the vessel, which served as the support for the submersible's structure, remained intact, indicating that they were not the component that experienced failure.

According to Insider, OceanGate's Titan was equipped with 'two titanium rings connected to the carbon-fiber hull,' and the expert stated that 'the rings appear to have remained sturdy.'

"It demonstrates that titanium was the appropriate material to use, while the combination with the composite material may have been unsuitable," he explained.

Other images demonstrate that the front viewport of the ship appears to have suffered a failure, as nothing is visible through the porthole except for the red cable device utilized to lift the vessel out of the water.

Graham-Jones informed Insider that while it is not impossible for the operation to have removed the acrylic viewport to accommodate the red cable, he deemed it unlikely.

"They could have lifted it in a bag," he added. "To me, it appears that it failed, and the window is gone."

This then raises the question: Did the viewport fail first, or did another part of the submersible experience failure, resulting in the viewport being blown out during the aftermath of the implosion?

According to the expert cited by Insider, the most significant observation in the footage is the absence of any substantial sections of the carbon-fiber hull being retrieved during the operation.

Although it is possible that such components were simply not captured in the footage, Graham-Jones suggests to Insider that it is an indication that the hull likely experienced failure first.

He clarified that both the failure of the viewport and the hull would have resulted in the implosion of the ship. However, if it was solely the viewport that gave in to the depths initially, then the pressure exerted on the hull would have been comparatively less intense.

Lastly, the images depict piping that would have originally been within the submersible, enclosed within a 'metal cage' that was connected to the carbon-fiber hull.

He stated, "The joint should be sufficiently strong to retain carbon residue, so there should be carbon remnants on that piece."

However, since no visible carbon fiber remains are observed on the tubes, the expert explains that this could indicate one of two possibilities.

Either the joint experienced failure, or it is "likely further evidence" that the carbon-fiber hull collapsed first, disintegrating into such tiny fragments that traces would not be visible on the joints.

Based on the available evidence, Graham-Jones suggests that the most reasonable explanation is that the hull failed first.

A forensic investigation is currently underway to determine the precise sequence of events that led to the eventual "catastrophic implosion."

The investigator states that they will meticulously examine all the components under a microscope, with the aim of understanding how the failure occurred.

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