Former Titan submersible passenger who took 4 dives in it, including to the Titanic, said communication with the surface ship was lost 'every single time'

 

A former passenger of the Titan submersible said he took four dives in it, including to the Titanic shipwreck, and that there were communication issues on every one of them.

 

The Titan went missing Sunday with five people on board after losing communication with its surface vessel less than two hours into the dive. As a submersible, the Titan cannot launch and return to port the way a submarine can and instead relies on a surface vessel to carry it to and from the dive spot.

 

The submersible also relies on the surface ship for navigation, as GPS is not an option 13,000 feet below sea level. The surface vessel sends text messages to people in the submersible, who then use a video-game controller to navigate according to the instructions.

 

Mike Reiss, a writer and producer for "The Simpsons," took the same voyage to the Titanic with OceanGate Expeditions last year.

 

"I took four different dives with the company, one to the Titanic and three off of New York City, and communication was lost, at least briefly, every single time," Reiss told CNN on Tuesday. "It just seems baked into the system. I don't blame the submarine as much as I blame deep water, but you would always lose it and come back."

 

The 23,000-pound Titan submersible left for its dive to the Titanic on Sunday morning, with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush on board. About an hour and 45 minutes into the journey, the crew on the surface ship lost contact with the Titan. The submersible has not been located or heard from since.

 

The US Coast Guard began its search Monday, at which point officials estimated the submersible had around 70 to 96 hours of oxygen left, enough to last until Thursday afternoon ET at the latest.

 

OceanGate and the Titan have since come under scrutiny over safety concerns. Reiss said he knew there was a possibility he would die on his dive to the Titanic and that the waiver he signed beforehand mentioned the possibility of death several times. But he told CNN he did not feel the company acted recklessly.

 

"There was one dive we took — as soon as communication went out, we went right back to the surface," Reiss said. "We had gone to see a U-boat just off the shore of New York. We saw it for one second, and they said, 'We're going back up. We shouldn't be down here.'

 

"So they're not hot dogs. They're not daredevils here. They take this very seriously."

 

 

Source:   Insider