James Cameron He is one of the most qualified personalities as far as the Titanic is concerned. The filmmaker has completed 33 dives to the wreck, so he was aware of the dangers OceanGate faced on his last mission. After confirming the disaster, the director of Avatar said learned since Monday that the submarine imploded and alerted the authorities.
In an interview with DailyMailJames Cameron stated that OceanGate should not have done what it was doing. “I wish I had talked more about it, but I didn’t know they weren’t certified. I didn’t really pay attention to it. He wasn’t interested,” she mentioned. The filmmaker said that there was a lot of concern about the submarine and the deep-sea engineering community sent a letter to the company asking it to become certified.
“You have to certify yourself. You cannot take people down there, it is irresponsible and could lead to a catastrophe,” the letter said. James Cameron mentioned that he was filming avatar 2 during the time concerns were raised. The filmmaker also claims that Stockton Rush, director of OceanGate, invited him to dive with him to travel to the Titanic, which he refused.
With this background, it came as no surprise to Cameron when he learned that the submarine was missing. Director of titanic received multiple calls and in a span of 90 minutes collected crucial data on the incident.
“They were descending at 3,500 feet, they lost communications and tracker. The latter is critical, because the transponder used to track submarines during descent is a completely autonomous system. Losing communications and tracking at the same time means that the Submarine no longer exists.”
James Cameron
James Cameron tried to think of other scenarios to explain what happened, but the only conclusion was that it imploded.
The Titanic submarine imploded on Monday
Cameron confessed that after obtaining the information about the accident, he contacted people responsible for acoustic networks and obtained confirmation that there was a loud crash at the same time the submarine lost communications. “She knew what had happened. The submarine imploded,” the filmmaker said. Subsequently, he sent emails to everyone he knew about the catastrophe and told them to look for the remains at the bottom of the ocean.
This information was confirmed by the United States Navy, who operates a top-secret acoustic detection system to locate enemy submarines. A defense official confided to the Wall Street Journal that they began listening to the Titan as soon as communications were lost.
“The US Navy performed an analysis of acoustic data and detected an anomaly consistent with an implosion or explosion in the vicinity of where the Titan submersible was operating when communications were lost,” the officer stated. “While not final, this information was immediately shared with the Incident Commander to assist with the ongoing search and rescue mission,” he said.
Despite James Cameron’s call and the data recorded by the Navy, the search and rescue operation focused on other scenarios. For five days it was rumored that the submarine would have been stranded on the wreckage of the Titanic or would return to the surface and needed to be located before the oxygen ran out.
The reality is that neither the director of Avatar nor did the engineering community share this sentiment. In an interview with BBCNewsJames Cameron said that the rescue operation felt like a protracted farce. “I knew that the submarine was sitting exactly below its last known depth and position. That’s exactly where they found it,” she said.
OceanGate could face criminal charges
In the face of the five people’s deaths, some wonder if OceanGate could face charges of negligence. Although the situation is catastrophic, the truth is that the crew members signed documents specifying that they could die. The youtuber Alan Estrada and the journalist David Pogue — who traveled on the Titan — realized this. Pogue mentioned that the documentation detailed that the ship had not been reviewed or certified by a government agency.
Although those affected signed documents, there is an option to report the company. Neama Rahmani, a lawyer and former federal prosecutor, mentioned that only simple negligence can be waived, but not serious negligence like death. “This evidence can be presented in any lawsuit, whether civil or criminal, for criminal negligence or recklessness,” he said.
The accusations to OceanGate have been a constant for years and James Cameron has confirmed it. The letter the filmmaker mentioned was sent by the Marine Technology Society (MTS) in March 2018, noting that the company’s experimental approach could have catastrophic results. Nevertheless, security was not a priority for Stockton Rush and his companysince he considered them as a waste.