Movie director and deep-sea explorer James Cameron has revealed in an interview that he now wishes he had “spoken up” about the design of OceanGate’s destroyed Titan submersible.
The “Titanic” film director, according to Reuters, was skeptical about Titan’s usage of composite carbon fiber and titanium for the makeup of its hull.
“I thought it was a horrible idea. I wish I’d spoken up, but I assumed somebody was smarter than me, you know, because I never experimented with that technology, but it just sounded bad on its face,” Cameron told the news agency.
He added that the industry standard is to make hulls out of contiguous materials such as titanium, steel, ceramic or acrylic and echoed concerns from critics that the materials used for the Titan’s hull would be susceptible to failure over time by way of delamination and water ingress, Reuters reports.
‘TITANIC’ DIRECTOR JAMES CAMERON BREAKS SILENCE ON OCEANGATE DISASTER
James Cameron attends the 21st Annual Visual Effects Society Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on Feb. 15, 2023. Cameron is now speaking out in the wake of the Titan disaster. (Leon Bennett/Getty Images)
“We celebrate innovation, right? But you shouldn’t be using an experimental vehicle for paying passengers that aren’t themselves deep ocean engineers,” Cameron was quoted as saying.
Cameron also said he knew the Titan was lost on the first day it was reported missing, according to Reuters.
OCEANGATE PASSENGER SULEMAN DAWOOD WAS ‘TERRIFIED’ OF TITANIC TRIP, AUNT SAYS
The OceanGate Titan submarine, which is now destroyed. (Ocean Gate / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“We got confirmation within an hour that there had been a loud bang at the same time that the sub comms were lost. A loud bang on the hydrophone. Loss of transponder. Loss of comms. I knew what happened. The sub imploded,” Cameron told Reuters, adding that he sent an email to colleagues Monday saying “We’ve lost some friends” and “It’s on the bottom in pieces right now.”
The five people who died this week have been identified as OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush; British businessman turned adventurer Hamish Harding; Paul-Henry Nargeolet, a former French navy officer and leading Titanic expert; and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood.
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From left: Suleman Dawood, Shahzada Dawood, Stockton Rush, Paul-Henry Nargeolet and Hamish Harding, the five who died in the OceanGate Titan submersible. (Engro Corp. | Reuters/Shannon Stapleton | @OceanGateExped/Twitter | Felix Kunze/Blue Origin via AP | Ocean Gate/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said underwater debris found Thursday was “consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel.”
“The debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber. Upon this determination, we immediately notified the families,” Mauger told reporters gathered in Boston. “On behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families.”
Fox News’ Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
