How many times did the Titan submersible actually reach the Titanic?
This article contains a comprehensive timeline of all missions, dives and dive attempts that occurred during OceanGate's first year of its "Titanic Survey Expedition," and links to the sources where the information comes from.
This post is exclusive to the events of 2021 and does not contain information about 2022 or 2023.
Based on the information outlined in this post, the Titan submersible reached Titanic a total of 3 times in 2021, and I'm fairly certain this number is correct. At a 2022 GeekWire talk OceanGate CEO Stock Rush said that Titan had reached Titanic 6 times in 2021, but at the very least this appears to be an exaggeration.
The first time Titan reached Titanic was on July 24, 2021 during Mission 4- the fourth trip out to sea with the tourist passengers.
Also see:
- All sources used to make the 2021 Titan submersible timeline
- Day-by-Day timeline of the events in this post
What is this timeline?
I decided to write this blog post when I found a day-by-day 2021 Titanic travel blog on an archived version of OceanGate's website, and I knew I had enough information to create a timeline of OceanGate's first year of Titanic dives. It seems they were updating the blog daily at first, then as time went on and they encountered more issues the blog was updated with less frequency and detail.
Using the information on the archived blog in combination with news articles, passenger accounts, and social media posts, I have been able to put together a comprehensive timeline of the dives and dive attempts made by the Titan submersible to the Titanic in 2021, and I've noted where there are things I do not have information on. A shorter, date-by-date post that summarizes the information in this post can be seen here.
In 2021 there were five "Missions," 8 or 9-day trips in which the passengers and crew would sail from Newfoundland to the Titanic coordinates in the ocean and attempt 1-3 dives in the Titan submersible to reach the Titanic. The timeline is broken down by Mission.
2021 Timeline
MISSION 1
Dates: 6/28/2021 - 7/6/2021
Attempted dives: 1 or 2
Dives that reached Titanic: 0
Passengers who have talked about their experience: Fred Hagen, Kim Frank
Mission begins
Aboard the ship were passengers Fred Hagen, a business man who has given several interviews about his experiences with OceanGate, and Kim Frank, a writer who wrote about her experience on Mission 1. Both Hagen and Frank can be seen in the Mission 1 group photo on the OceanGate blog. Kim Frank is the wife of OceanGate legal adviser David Concannon, and the information she shares is to be taken in that context.
The OceanGate blog mentions only one dive occurring, a 1,700 meter-deep dive that occurred on the sixth day of the mission. Additionally, there is information pointing to an earlier dive occurring as well.
Dive to 1,700 meters
On July 3, 2021 the OceanGate blog mentions that Titan made a dive that reached a depth of 1,700 meters. This is nearly half-way to the Titanic wreckage at a depth of 3,800 meters.
The only other mention I've found of this 1700-meter dive is in a quote from P.H. Nargeolet in an OceanGate press release from ten days later about a different dive. He is quoted as saying "I have completed two deep dives in the Titan submersible: the first to 1700 meters and then to the Titanic at 3840 meters."
Additional dive
Fred Hagen's quote is the only explicit mention of a second dive occurring on Mission 1. OceanGate's blog does not give much information about what happened on Mission 1 between arriving at the Titanic coordinates on June 30 and the 1700-meter dive happening on July 3.
But reading between the lines, it seems they were having technical problems with the sub.
Writer Kim Frank gives more clues about what happened on her instagram.
On July 2, 2021 she posted "Sunrise over the Titanic. A beautiful morning for a first dive. @oceangateexped has been carefully testing and adjusting all operations as the conditions here are unique to this sub and launch system. As with any feat of exploration that pushes boundaries, there is an anything can happen factor. So far, Stockton Rush’s Titan is rising to (and overcoming) all the challenges."
On July 3, 2021 she posted "Day 3 on the Titanic site and going for the dive today. High winds and rough seas cancelled yesterday’s attempt, but calmer seas today."In Frank's article about the trip there is no mention of any dives occurring, likely either due to the upbeat tone of the post or the fact that her husband worked at OceanGate. But her article does include photos of the passengers inside the submersible with a caption describing the photo as a "pre-dive check."
Mission 1 Summary
June 30, July 1, and July 2, 2021
- OceanGate had problems launching Titan due to technical malfunctions. A dive attempt likely occurred, but no dive reached Titanic.
July 3, 2021
- 1 dive reached 1,700 meters, about half-way to the Titanic wreck. It encountered electrical and other technical problems and had to resurface.
MISSION 2
Attempted dives: 1
Dives that reached Titanic: 0
Passengers who have talked about their experience: Alan Estrada
First few days
Alan Estrada was a passenger on Mission 2 in 2021 and documented his experience on his Youtube channel. The videos are a 4-part series, with parts 1 and 2 showing the events of Mission 2 of 2021. The videos are mostly in Spanish, with English subtitles available (subtitles do translate the Spanish word "inmersión" as "immersion" but a better translation here is "dive").
In the part 1 video Estrada says that OceanGate staff told him the dive on the prior mission reached a depth of 1,700 meters, then had electrical issues and had to resurface. He says, "So they say that even though we are getting on board [the ship] tomorrow we don't really know when we are sailing, because the engineers have to diagnose the submarine."
In the part 2 video he says that OceanGate is going to do a test dive with crew members only. He says the dive will launch at 10:30AM rather than 8:00AM because "Being a test dive, it is expected to last less time than the dives with mission specialists like me. They'll stay in the bottom a couple of hours, instead of the four hours planned for regular dives."
According to both OceanGate's account and Alan Estrada's account, only 1 dive took place on Mission 2 that was intended to reach Titanic. The information they give about this dive, however, differs.
The Mission 2 Dive- OceanGate's version
On July 13, 2021 OceanGate put out a press release saying they had reached Titanic for the first time. The press release contains photos, but none are of the Titanic ship; all are of the debris in the field around the ship.
The crew members listed on this dive are pilot Stockton Rush, co-pilot Scott Griffith, and P.H. Nargeolet. Rush is quoted in the press release as saying "This successful dive to the Titanic is the result of years of purposeful and persistent effort."
The optimism in the press release about OceanGate's first ever succesful dive to Titanic is countered by its own blog which contains no celebration of this dive.
The blog mentions this dive occurring on July 9, 2021 with a post that says- "Stockton Rush, co-pilot Scott Griffith, and Mission Specialist PH Nargeolet, former French Naval Commander, legendary Nautile submersible pilot and Titanic veteran poses [sic] for a team photo prior to boarding Titan submersible."
There's no entry on July 10. On July 11 the blog has just one sentence "The team gathers for a post dive brief to discuss all aspects of the previous dive operations."
The Mission 2 Dive- what is shown in Alan Estrada's video
Alan Estrada, a passenger on the 2021 Mission 2, documented the circumstances of this dive in a video on his Youtube channel.
Estrada's video shows Titan on the platform. The launch is delayed by two hours because the sub is still being repaired as it's preparing to launch. The platform is finally sent down the ramp into the ocean, and the sub launches from the platform, descending into the ocean.
Later in the video Estrada reports that the sub has landed on the ocean floor in the debris field. The sub explores the debris field, but loses sonar. The crew on the support ship is trying to guide the sub toward Titanic but is unable to.
He says time is ticking. They have to be able to retrieve the sub before sunset so the sub must start ascending within the next 30 minutes. But the sub is unable to drop the weights it needs to drop in order to ascend. Estrada says that the crew on the support ship is doing everything it can to assist the sub before beginning emergency protocol. Then the staff kicks everyone else out of the "control room" and Estrada is unable to keep filming.
A text screen then appears in the video with the following information-
"After two hours of trying to fix the problem they ascend using the propellers. But this alternative is too slow. The team estimates they'll reach the surface at 1:00 AM. The pilot decides to initiate the emergency mechanism and abandon the ballast tank system. Titan ascends rapidly."
Titan makes it to the surface at about 8:00PM. According to Estrada, it should take about 30 minutes to get the sub back on the ship. But it ends up taking eight hours.
Because the emergency weights were released, the sub is "too floaty" and cannot be attached to the platform. After about an hour, a team begins attaching weights to the sub. A few hours later the sub is finally attached to the platform. But now they can't get the platform back onto the ship.
To get the platform back onto the ship, the platform floats need to be inflated. But the air tanks run out of air, so the inflation cannot be completed and the platform is only floating on one side. The team starts adding "floating bags" to the platform, and after a couple hours of this they are able to get the platform onto the ship. The crew is then let out of the submersible at 4:00AM.
The following day Estrada says that OceanGate has decided not to do any more dives during his mission because it's not safe for the passengers. They offer him a free trip the following year.
The passenger test dive
Before they arrive back on land, Stockton Rush gives Estrada and three other passengers a "test dive" in the Titan submersible in shallow waters. According to the OceanGate blog this dive takes place on July 14, 2021.
Estrada documents this test dive in his video. The dive is made to a depth of 100 meters. The sub explores the ocean floor and the passengers are allowed to take turns driving the sub with the video game controller. Estrada is shown driving the sub, and at one point he hits a rock which shakes the sub.
Mission 2 Summary
7/9/2021
1 dive occurred. It reached the debris field of the Titanic and couldn't find the ship, but OceanGate declared that they had successfully made a dive to Titanic for the first time.
The sub was still being repaired so it was late to launch. It reached the Titanic debris field but could not find the Titanic ship because of sonar issues. The sub had problems ascending and was stuck on the ocean floor for about 2 hours. They finally were able to use the propellers to reach the surface, then dropped the "ballast tank system" to ascend faster. They finally reached the surface but were stuck bobbing on the surface for eight hours. This is because they had problems getting the sub onto the platform. Then there were problems getting the platform onto the ship.
7/14/2021
- Stockton Rush and 4 passengers do a "test dive" in shallow waters, at a depth of about 100 meters. The tourists are allowed to drive the submarine and one hits a rock.
MISSION 3
Attempted dives: At least 1
Dives that reached Titanic: 0
Passengers who have talked about their experience: Ron Toigo, Jaden Pan
The phrase "travel restrictions" implies visa or permit issues. But it seems that the travel issues they had were due to problems with the sub; Mission 3 began only six days after the conclusion of the high-stakes, problematic dive documented by Alan Estrada.
I
couldn't find any mention of a Mission 3 dive from OceanGate. But there
are two passengers in the Mission 3 photo who have talked about their
experiences: Ron Toigo and Jaden Pan.
The Dive- according to Ron Toigo
Some passengers, including Jaden Pan, went on multiple missions during the same year. But Ron Toigo made one trip in 2021 and a second in 2022, meaning that the 2021 dive he was present for occurred during Mission 3.
I've found three interviews with him in which he describes his 2021 dive.
According to the Vancouver Sun- "On Toigo’s first voyage, in 2021, mechanical problems resulted in the sub settling on the ocean floor for four or five hours before it was able to rise to the surface again, with no view of the famous White Star liner. The whole trip took 20 hours."
In a Daily Hive article he says "We made it all the way to the bottom but the weights wouldn’t disperse. So we ended up spending most of the day working on having the weights disperse so we could get back to the top and by the time we got the weights off, it was too late to return"
In a CBC article he says "Stockton figured it out... we were able to make it back to the top."
The Dive- according to Jaden Pan and a video recording
Jaden Pan spoke about this dive in the BBC documentary about OceanGate's Titanic Survey Expedition. The documentary was filmed in 2022, and Jaden is interviewed about his experience on a dive that occurred the previous year, 2021. In addition to Jaden's account there is footage of the dive taking place. Ron Toigo is seen on the sub in the footage.
The BBC documentary is not currently available online. I found someone on Reddit who had a copy. If you're able to watch it, Jaden Pan talks about the Mission 3 dive starting at about 8:40.
Jaden says that they descended for a little over two hours and got within about "two football fields" of the Titanic. Then Stockton Rush said they had to turn back because one of the batteries had run out and they weren't able to use the "electronic drops for the weights."
He says the people in the sub then discussed their options. One option they discussed was spending the night at the bottom of the ocean and waiting for the back up weights to be released. These back up weights are sandbags with hooks on them that dissolve after about 24 hours in the water, releasing the sandbags which would propel the submersible upward.
Jaden says that he was fine with spending the night at the bottom of the ocean, but others in the sub were not in agreement with this plan. In the video Stockton Rush is seen calmly discussing options with the passengers. He says if they stay at the bottom of the ocean they will still have communication, and they will be at the ocean bottom for about another 16-24 hours.
Jaden says that eventually "Stockton was able to hydrolic pump it gently so it was able to slowly release the weights," and the sub begins ascending. An OceanGate staff member on the sub smiles and says to camera "This is why you want your pilot to be an engineer."
Were there other Mission 3 dives?
In the three interviews I found with Ron Toigo, he makes no mention of being on a second dive in 2021. He also doesn't mention any other dives occurring on Mission 3 that he was not on. I've not been able to find any other information. I also don't have information about when the known Mission 3 dive occurred or when Mission 3 ended.
It seems unlikely there were any dives that reached Titanic during Mission 3, because OceanGate would have a reason to share that information if a successful dive had occurred.
Mission 3 Summary
July 18, 19, 20, 21, or 22
- 1 dive occurred and it did not reach Titanic. Footage of this dive was shown in the BBC documentary. The sub nearly reached the ocean floor but was aborted due to battery issues. The weights would not drop, so the passengers discuss spending the night on the ocean floor and weighting for the emergency backup weights to be dropped. Rush eventually finds a way to manually drop the weights, and the sub resurfaces.
There's no information about any other dives occurring during Mission 3. If they did happen it's unlikely the reached Titanic because OceanGate likely would have announced a successful dive to Titanic.
MISSION 4
Attempted dives: 3
Dives that reached Titanic: 1 dive reached the bow. 1 dive made it to the debris field and "saw the propellers" as they ascended.
Passengers who have talked about their experience: Jason Wortman, Bill Price
The OceanGate blog has even less information about Mission 4. Mission 1 had a daily summary of all eight days of the trip. Mission 4 has just two. The blog states they began sailing on July 23, 2021. And on July 24, 2021 there's a mention of a dive on which Jason Wortman was a passenger.
Wortman dive- according to OceanGate
The July 24, 2021 OceanGate blog post says "A first for Titanic history! - The first 5-person crew consisting of Stockton Rush, [name], [name], [name], and Joseph Wortman made their way to the Titanic site, observing a new area of the debris field less documented than any other region."
The caption of the photo says "OceanGate Expeditions Titanic dive crew sets a record for reaching the Titanic depths of 3,748M (12,296 feet) in a 5-person carbon fiber submersible. This team of five descended to these depths in 2.5 hours landing directly in the least documented area of the debris field."
Both the blog and the Facebook post confirm that the dive reached the Titanic debris field.
Wortman dive- according to Jason Wortman
Jason Wortman talked his experience to The Detroit News, and this is the only interview I've found with him or any of the other passengers. The article is behind a paywall. I paid the $2 to read it, and it's a very well-written account.
Wortman confirms some of the details on OceanGate's blog. He was on Mission 4 and his dive was the first dive of the Mission.
He says they boarded the sub and began descending, but the descent was going faster than expected, which was a problem. He says this was because the sub was too heavy; passengers may have underreported their weights, or it could have been because of the commemorative coins brought on board. Because of the fast descent the sub missed its destination. It had been aiming for the bow but landed behind the stern, which is the back of the ship.
Wortman saw debris from Titanic including ceramic tiles and wine bottles. He says he saw the ship's propellers as the submersible was floating back up to surface.
This dive also had an issue with dropping the weights. According to the article, one of the weights did not drop off. So they were able to ascend but it was slower than normal, taking about 3 and a half hours in total.
Bill Price's first dive
Passenger Bill Price has given a few interviews about his July 2021 trip with OceanGate to see Titanic. An OceanGate Facebook photo from 2021 shows Price holding the "Mission IV" flag.
According to Price he did one dive that did not reach Titanic, and another dive that reached Titanic. In this interview with the San Luis Obispo paper The Tribune he gives a detailed account of his first dive.
He says that an hour into the dive they lost communications. This was concerning because they were relying on the support ship for navigation directions. Then they realized Titan's "left side propolusion unit" wasn't working so they were unable to steer. The decision was made to abort the dive and return to surface.
But there was problem with the weights and they could not ascend. Price says it was a problem with the "electriconic release mechanism" of the weights. He said Stockton "had anticipated this" and came up with a plan.
About Stockton's plan Price said, "If we could twist the sub far enough over on its ‘side,’ maybe the weights would fall out and be released. [...] So, five of us went from one side of the sub to the other, until we got the submersible to spin or twist."
After 30 minutes of this it worked. The weights fell off and they started to float up to the surface.
Bill Price's second dive
Price says that the day after the failed dive, Stockton asked everyone if they wanted to go again and they all said yes.
They descended and reached Titanic. They saw the bow of the ship. A video from this trip is in the Los Angeles Times article about Price with the caption "the first trip Titan took to the Titanic."
In Alan Estrada's Youtube video he also says that the first time they reached the bow was during Mission 4.
Were there other Mission 4 dives?
In Wortman's account it says "Wortman was told he'd be lucky if his mission could do all three dives. One was called off because weather conditions changed." The article also says that though Wortman's dive didn't see the bow of the ship "A later dive did see it." Neither Wortman nor Price mention any additional dives occurring during Mission 4. If there were 3 dives, and another dive that was called off due to weather, I don't think there would have been time for any more dives.
Mission 4 Summary
The Titan submersible reached the Titanic for the first time during Mission 4.
- 1 dive reached the Titanic debris field. The couldn't find the ship but could see the propellers of Titanic while ascending. They had issue with the ship weighing too much on descent, then had issues dropping the submersible weights when trying to resurface. Only one of the weights dropped so they were able to resurface but it was slower than usual.
- 1 dive did not reach Titanic. They lost communications during descent. Then there was an issue releasing the weights, so Stockton told the passengers to rock back and forth to spin the submersible and knock the weights off. This worked after 30 minutes and they reached the surface.
- 1 dive reached Titanic. They saw the bow. This was the first time Titan ever reached Titanic.
MISSION 5
Attempted dives: 2
Dives that reached Titanic: 2
Passengers who have talked about their experience: David Waud, Aaron Newman, Arthur Loibl
OceanGate's blog only has 1 post about Mission 5. On August 5, 2021 it announces that the fifth and final mission has concluded.
This is valuable information because it tells us two things:
- There were a total of five Missions in 2021
- Mission 5 was the only Mission that took place in August 2021.
There are three people that have talked about August 2021 Titanic dives with OceanGate.
Dive to the stern
Both Aaron Newman (an OceanGate investor) and Daivd Waud describe being on a dive in August 2021 that reached the stern, the back end of the ship.
A CBS news interview with Newman includes video from his dive and David Waud can briefly be seen on the sub (in the striped shirt).
In a CNN interview Waud confirms that he was on the fifth trip with OceanGate says he was on a dive the second-to-last day that reached the stern.
Both men say that the dive went smoothly, and I have not found any mention of an issue with this dive.
Dive to the bow
David Waud told CNN that the dive to the stern took place on the second-to-last day of the trip, and that the following day a different group of passengers made a dive that reached the bow the Titanic.
Arthur Loibl has spoken about being on a dive that matches this description.
Loibl talked to Insider about an August 2021 dive he did with OceanGate that reached the bow of the Titanic. In this interview he also says he was on Mission 5, the exact quote being "my mission was fifth." He also gave an interview to the Associated Press in which he talks about this dive.
According to Loibl his dive was delayed by five hours because of problems with the battery and balancing the weights. He also says that shortly before his dive "the bracket of a stabilizing tube broke off the vessel and had to be reattached with zip ties."
On the dive with Loibl were Stockton Rush, P.H. Nargeolet, and "two men from England." The descent took about two and a half hours, during which the lights were turned off to conserve energy.
The dive reached the bow of the Titanic and Liobl was able to capture photos of the ship. In the article Liobl is said to have attributed this dive's success to luck. The article says-
"The group was lucky and enjoyed an amazing view of the wreck, Loibl said, unlike visitors on other dives who only got to see a field of debris or in some cases nothing at all. Some customers lost nonrefundable payments after bad weather made descent impossible."
According to Loibl the total dive time was 10.5 hours. Based on the information I've found, this dive was the last dive of the year and the second time the Titan submersible had reached the bow of the Titanic.
Were there other Mission 5 dives?
In David Waud's CNN interview he says that his dive was made on the second-to-last day of the trip, and that the dive that reached the bow was on the last day. His interview was two years after his trip, so it's possible he misremembered the dates. But if his timeline is correct then there would not have been time for more dives.
Additionally, none of the men mention being on more than one dive. Waud does discuss the other dive that occurred, and does not mention any further dives occurring.
If there were other dives they would have likely been in the first few days of the mission and were cancelled or aborted before reaching Titanic.
Mission 5 Summary
- 1 dive reached Titanic at the stern. I've found no mentions of issues with this dive.
- 1 dive reached Titanic. They saw the bow. The dive was launched five hours late due to problems with the battery and the weights on the submersible. Shortly before the dive, a part of the submersible breaks off and is reattached with zip ties. The sub descends with the lights turned off to save battery. The sub is able to navigate to the Titanic, reaching the bow.
All 2021 Summary
Based on my research, in 2021 OceanGate did:
- 5 "Missions"
- 2 submersible dives that reached the Titanic bow
- 1 submersible dive that reached the Titanic stern
- 4 submersible dives that were aborted before reaching the bottom of the ocean
- 2 submersible dives that reached the Titanic debris field but could not reach the Titanic ship
- 0 submersible dives to Titanic before it began trips with paying customers
OceanGate's Titan submersible reached the Titanic a total of 3 times in 2021. The first time Titan reached the Titanic was between the dates of July 26 - 29, 2021. This was during Mission 4, the fourth of five trips out to sea with paying customers.
Also see: Date-by-date summary of the information in this post
LIST OF ALL SOURCES USED IN THIS TIMELINE
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