A new lawsuit filed by the family of French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who died in the Titan submersible implosion last year, alleges that the crew was likely aware of their impending doom during their final moments. Nargeolet, known as “Mr. Titanic” for his 37 previous dives to the wreckage, was aboard the vessel when it catastrophically failed in June 2023 during a voyage to the Titanic site. All five crew members, including British explorer Hamish Harding, British Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, perished in the incident.
The lawsuit, which seeks $50 million in damages, accuses OceanGate and Rush of negligence, claiming that numerous flaws and shortcomings in the submersible were intentionally hidden from Nargeolet. “The catastrophic implosion that claimed Nargeolet’s life was due directly to the persistent carelessness, recklessness and negligence of OceanGate, Rush and other defendants,” the lawsuit states. The family contends that the crew would have been aware of the imminent implosion, citing an “acoustic safety system” designed to detect hull cracking under pressure. “While the exact cause of failure may never be determined, experts agree that the Titan’s crew would have realized exactly what was happening,” the lawsuit asserts. “The vaunted ‘acoustic safety system’ would have alerted the crew that the carbon-fibre hull was cracking under extreme pressure – prompting the pilot to release weight and attempt to abort,” it alleges. “Common sense dictates that the crew were well aware they were going to die, before dying,” it further alleges.
This lawsuit follows a recent statement by Rory Golden, who was aboard the support ship during the disaster, detailing the fear and false hope that permeated the doomed rescue effort. Golden, a close friend of Nargeolet, described the crew’s potential fate to the BBC: “We had this image in our heads of them being down there, running out of oxygen in the freezing cold, getting terribly frightened and scared.” Following the disaster, the US Coast Guard initiated a Marine Board of Investigation to determine the cause of the implosion. A public hearing is scheduled for September.
