What to know before watching Netflix’s ‘Titan: The OceanGate Disaster’ documentary

Here is a refresher on what Netflix’s ‘Titan: The OceanGate Disaster’ is all about.

June 18 this year will mark the second anniversary of the Titan disaster, an event that killed all five on board a craft made for deep sea exploration. Titan, an experimental submersible, was designed to take passengers almost to the ocean floor for a $250,000-per-person tour to see the wreckage of the Titanic ship.

Those killed in the incident were Oceangate CEO Stockton Rush, billionaire Hamish Harding, businessman Shahzada Dawood, his university-going son Suleman Dawood, and Titanic researcher Paul-Henri Nargeolet. Their disappearance and deaths, caused by an implosion, spellbound people all over the globe.

Now, a documentary titled ‘Titan: The OceanGate Disaster’ is set to be released on Netflix on June 11. Directed by Mark Monroe, the documentary presents a new perspective on the disaster, highlighting the expedition’s end as resulting from a deadly combination of professional negligence, a disregard for safety regulations over the years, and the CEO’s pursuit of fame.

The documentary’s minute-long trailer reveals that Titan’s failure was a foregone conclusion from the outset. It critiques the psychology and personality of company CEO Stockton Rush, who was piloting the craft at the time of the implosion.

About the implosion, experts were divided. Some claimed that those inside the submersible knew of the fatal malfunction and spent their last seconds in terror, while others noted that they all died even before realising that anything was wrong.

Why isn’t there a consensus? Because of Titan’s unorthodox design, which lacked crucial reporting or logging tools that more regulated companies generally include in their crafts; Titan did not even have a detectable beacon, per a journalist.

The documentary is anticipated to reveal more details about the minutes preceding the implosion, the findings of the subsequent investigation, and more data on the exact cause of the implosion. It should also provide valuable insights that both daredevil entrepreneurs and adventurers should take away.