The Facts
As of Wednesday, the submersible carrying tourists to visit the remains of the Titanic is estimated to have 20 hours of breathable air left, with search aircraft recording "inconclusive" banging on Tuesday and Wednesday that's thought to potentially be originating from the sub.
In what's being described as a "last chance" effort to save the passengers on board, three US Air Force C-17 Globemasters delivered supplies and tools to Newfoundland, Canada, where a supply ship then set off on a 400-mile voyage to the location where the OceanGate Expeditions’ sub went missing.
The Spin
Narrative A
Despite the Titan sub's state-of-the-art navigation system equipped with acoustic sensors to detect vehicle depth and speed, OceanGate voyages like these have always been dark, unpredictable, and dangerous for the passengers who decide to sign up. The waters this submersible got lost in are the same that swallowed thousands of lives on the Titanic. While each and every person who signs up knows these risks, the world is holding its breath for a successful rescue mission.
Narrative B
While there may be inherent risks to deep water exploration, and everyone is rightfully rooting for a successful rescue mission right now, once this ends, there needs to be a thorough investigation into allegations that OceanGate ignored safety flaws in its submersibles. A former employee claims that company leadership knew about and ignored flaws in the quality control and safety measures of the very Titan sub used for this research trip. This employee said he was met with "hostility" and even denied access to information regarding the flaws — information that must be investigated.
Cynical narrative
As is the case for space tourism and 24-day private global jet tours, deep-sea exploration like this is simply an adventurous game for the ultra-wealthy to play in their free time. While it's extremely regulated, the potential dangers of the commercial sub industry haven't changed much since it became accessible 35 years ago. Nothing can be said other than that as the number of people worth more than $30M grows, their abnormal hunger for extreme adrenaline rushes will only grow with it.
