US Coast Guard releases recording that appears to be audio of Titanic submersible implosion

PORTLAND, Maine — A recording released by the federal government appears to include audio of the implosion of the experimental submersible that went missing on its way to the wreck of the Titanic.

A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration passive acoustic recorder located about 900 miles (1,448 kilometers) away from the implosion site picked up the sound, U.S. Coast Guard officials said in a statement. The recording became public on Feb. 7.

The brief, staticky recording includes a loud noise that sounds somewhat like an underwater thunderclap. It then goes silent for its remaining few seconds.

The Coast Guard said in a statement that the audio clip “records the suspected acoustic signature of the Titan submersible implosion” on June 18, 2023, the day the submersible went missing.

The implosion of the Titan killed all five people on board and set off a Coast Guard investigation and international debate about the future of private deep-sea travel. The Titan vanished on its way to the wreck of the Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean, setting off a five-day search that ended with authorities telling the world that the vessel had been destroyed with no survivors.

Concerns were raised after the implosion because of the Titan's unconventional design and its creator's refusal to submit to independent safety checks. OceanGate, the Washington state-based company that owned the submersible, suspended operations in July 2023.

Titan operator Stockton Rush, who co-founded OceanGate, was among those who died in the implosion. The implosion also killed two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood; British adventurer Hamish Harding; and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

A Coast Guard panel performing a lengthy investigation into the submersible disaster heard two weeks of testimony last September. The testimony included dramatic moments, such as when a former OceanGate scientific director said the Titan malfunctioned during a dive just a few days before its implosion.

The Coast Guard is expected to release more information about the implosion in the future. A spokesperson for the agency said Wednesday the investigation is still ongoing and a final report will be released after it is completed.