The Titan Submersible Made Its Last Trip in June 2023 — How Many Dives Did It Actually Do?

In June 2023, all of social media was captivated by a story that involved a missing submersible. The vessel was built and operated by OceanGate, an American underwater-tourism company that promised to bring passengers to the resting place of the Titanic. The June 18 trip was the first of the year, and it ended in tragedy when the Titan submersible imploded, immediately killing all five people inside.

According to The New York Times, OceanGate conducted tests of the craft in early 2018 at a marina in its headquarters in Everett, Wash. Around this time, David Lochridge, OceanGate’s director of marine operations, wrote a report stating the vessel needed more testing due to the "potential dangers to passengers of the Titan as the submersible reached extreme depths." This begs the question: How many dives did the Titan submersible make? Here's what we know.

According to OceanGate's four-page liability waiver, obtained by Business Insider, the Titan submersible completed 90 dives before it imploded in June 2023. Of those 90 dives, only 13 reached 3,800 meters, which is the depth of the Titanic. If you're doing the math, this translates to a 14 percent success rate in terms of actually reaching the long-sunken ship.

Back in December 2022, CBS reporter David Pogue was invited on a trip to see the Titanic, an offer he couldn't refuse. The waiver he signed described the Titan as "experimental" and went on to say it "had not been approved by any regulatory body." OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who died in the implosion, told Pogue this was a "new type of travel." For $250,000 per person, anyone could take a historical trip in the carbon-fiber vessel.

The Titan submersible was 22 feet in length. During his conversation with Pogue, Rush pointed out that the submersible was operated by a single button. He also said it would run "like an elevator" and wouldn't "take a lot of skill." While touring the Titan, Rush showed Pogue some piping and explained that it came from Camping World, an RV supplier. Stockton did manage to assure Pogue that the pressure vessel was developed by Boeing and NASA.

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) investigated the Titan implosion and concluded it was due to the carbon fiber used to construct the craft's hull, per the BBC. This is an unorthodox material for a deep-sea submersible because it is unreliable under pressure. Layers of carbon fiber can separate in a process known as delamination.

The loud bang reportedly heard by those monitoring the Titan's trip was caused by delamination. "Delamination at dive 80 was the beginning of the end," said Lieutenant Commander Katie Williams from the USCG. "And everyone that stepped onboard the Titan after dive 80 was risking their life." Lochridge told NBC News in September 2024 that OceanGate just wanted to make money. "There was very little in the way of science."