Historian reveals parallels between Titan Five and Titanic passengers
Global interest, rumours that everyone was alive, demands for an inquiry, delayed distress calls and owners trying to make as much money as they could: Historian TIM MALTIN reveals eerie parallels between Titan Five and original doomed Titanic passengers
Acclaimed director James Cameron said after the tragedy involving the Titan submersible this week that he was ‘struck’ by the similarities with the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.
And, as a historian who has written about and researched the Titanic disaster extensively, I can’t help but agree with him.
From the global interest after the story hit the headlines and the rumours that the passengers might be safe, to the demands for an inquiry, delayed distress calls and wealthy owners, the parallels are eerie.
Below, I delve into those in more detail, showing just how close the links are.
The Titanic (pictured embarking on its maiden voyage) in 1912 sank in the freezing waters of the Atlantic after hitting an iceberg
This undated image courtesy of OceanGate Expeditions, shows their Titan submersible being towed to a dive location
As a historian who has written about and researched the Titanic disaster extensively, I can’t help but agree with James Cameron when he says there are eerie parallels with the sinking and this week’s tragedy
The global interest and hopes the passengers might be alive
The fascination that led wealthy passengers including British billionaire Hamish Harding to pay more than $250,000 to see a decaying wreck in poor visibility stems from the fact that the Titanic, in my view, represents the ultimate tragedy.
In the confusion after the Titanic’s sinking, headlines such as the above in the Daily Mail proclaimed ‘no lives lost’
Because if the ‘unsinkable’ ship – which was a gleaming beacon of the pinnacle of technology when it was launched – and all her passengers and crew represent the whole of humanity, the iceberg which sank her represents the awesome power of nature.
That, I believe, is the reason for the enduring interest in Titanic, and in this week’s closely watched search and rescue operation.
Within hours of the news breaking on Monday, it had become the world’s biggest news story.
The focus at first was of course on the possibility that the five could still be alive, with initial reports of knocking sounds boosting those hopes further.
Similarly, when the Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, the early news reports were positive.
In the confusion, headlines proclaimed ‘no lives lost’, or ‘all passengers being taken off’, or ‘Titanic being towed to Halifax’.
These reports were of course not true, just as the hopes that the Titan passengers might be found alive and rescued were also, unfortunately, wide of the mark.
The initial incorrect reports were based on the fact that, while the world knew from the radio distress calls that there had been a major problem, it was not until rescue ship the Carpathia made it to New York three days after the disaster that families had confirmation there had been huge loss of life.
The initial incorrect reports were based on the fact that, while the world knew from the radio distress calls that there had been a major problem, it was not until rescue ship the Carpathia made it to New York three days after the disaster that families had confirmation there had been huge loss of life. Above: Titanic passengers on the Carpathia
Demands for an inquiry
US legal expert Joshua Ritter said this week that OceanGate, the firm which built Titan, could face a federal probe into any criminal liability.
They added that a combination of governments are expected to investigate the tragedy, but the US – which was heavily involved in the search operation through the Coast Guard and Navy – is expected to lead it.
After the sinking of the Titanic more than a century ago, there was not one but two inquiries – the first in New York and then a second in London.
Both heard from survivors and recommended changes in safety at sea which are still in place to this day.
Among them was the instruction that ships have to carry enough lifeboats to accommodate everyone on board a vessel, a regulation which was not in place when the Titanic sank.
After the sinking of the Titanic more than a century ago, there was not one but two inquiries – the first in New York and then a second in London. Above: The Titanic inquiry in London
Delayed distress calls
The Titanic’s crew did not send a distress call until 47 minutes after the collision with the iceberg.
Similarly, it emerged this week that OceanGate did not alert the US Coast Guard until eight hours after it lost contact with Titan.
This ultimately proved to be besides the point – because Titan’s passengers are thought to have been killed instantly when the vessel’s structure failed.
But in the case of the Titanic, she only floated for two and a half hours after hitting the iceberg, and so a third of that time was spent without any nearby vessels being made aware.
If the signal had been sent sooner, more lives may have been saved.
Wealthy owners and passengers
As well as Mr Harding, who was believed to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds, on board Titan was also Indian billionaire Shahzada Dawood with his 19-year-old son.
The Dawood family are among the richest in Pakistan.
But equally OceanGateCEO Stockton Rush had an estimated net worth of $12million, while French Navy veteran Paul-Henri Nargeolet was said to be worth $1.5billion.
On the Titanic, there were dozens of extremely wealthy passengers.
As well as Mr Harding (left), who was believed to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds, on board Titan was also Indian billionaire Shahzada Dawood on board with his 19-year-old son
French Navy veteran PH Nargeolet (left was also in the sub along with Stockton Rush (right), CEO of the OceanGate Expedition
The richest on board was John Jacob Astor, whose net worth was the equivalent of more than $2.5billion in today’s money.
Astor died after being denied a space in lifeboats, which were largely reserved for women and children.
Other multi-millionaires who died included industrialist Benjamin Guggenheim and streetcar magnate Dunton Widener, whilst many others survived.
The Titanic’s owners, the White Star Line, were hugely wealthy too after rapidly expanding in the early 20th century.
The first bid to raise the Titanic began just months after the disaster, when the families of three of the wealthiest passengers who perished clubbed together. Above: John Jacob Astor (left) was one of the richest men in the world. Industrialist Benjamin Guggenheim (right) and streetcar magnate Dunton Widener also perished
In both the recent case and that of the Titanic, finances were at the heart of the decision-making.
The wealthy passengers on Titan were prepared to pay a quarter of a million dollars to risk their lives.
And Titan itself was built to take paying passengers. Most other submersibles capable of operating in similar conditions are built for research, not for tourism.
As for the Titanic, it was built to carry as many people as possible and to make the White Star Line as much money as possible.
Equally, both sets of wealthy passengers were taking to the sea in what were the high-tech crafts of their day, putting aside the question marks raised by some experts about the safety of Titan’s structure.
Both tragedies were in the same place!
This might seem too obvious to mention, but both disasters occurred at the same place.
Cameron highlighted the oddness of this fact, saying this week: ‘To take place at the same exact site with all the diving that’s going on all around the world, I think it’s just astonishing.
‘It’s really quite surreal.’
The resting places of Hamilton and his comrades will now be very close to what remains of the original passengers and crew who went down with the ship.
Some have even said that they are five more victims of the Titanic itself.
This might seem too obvious to mention, but both disasters occurred in more or less the same place. Above: The ships that were crisscrossing the area during the search operation this week
No means of escape
The Titanic did of course have 20 lifeboats, but these were only enough for just over half of the people on board, a fact which immediately drew condemnation
Equally, there was, tragically, no means of escape for those on board Titan. There was no back-up craft for them to climb into if something went wrong
The Titanic did of course have 20 lifeboats, but these were only enough for just over half of the people on board, a fact which immediately drew condemnation.
Besides these boats, there was no other way to escape from the ship without just plunging into the ocean and freezing to death – as many did.
Equally, there was, tragically, no means of escape for those on board Titan. There was no back-up craft to rescue them if something went wrong.
They could not even open it from the inside, meaning that, had they been bobbing undiscovered on the surface of the Atlantic, they could have suffocated once their oxygen supplies ran out.
However, this point is slightly moot because, as investigators revealed this week, the submersible suffered a catastrophic implosion, killing everyone on board instantly.
The passengers were related!
They were shown in the film embracing on their bed as water rushed onto the ship.
The couple both perished in the disaster. Isidor had been the co-founder of the Macy’s department store.
It emerged this week that Stockton Rush’s wife Wendy is the great-great-granddaughter of the wealthy New York couple Isidor and Ida Straus, who were immortalised in Cameron’s 1997 film Titanic
They were shown in the film embracing on their bed as water rushed onto the ship
Mrs Rush married her engineer and entrepreneur husband in 1986. She is descended from the Straus’ daughter Minnie, who married Dr. Richard Weil in 1905.
Their son, Richard Weil Jr., later served as president of Macy’s New York.
His son, Dr. Richard Weil III, is Mrs Rush’s father, according to reports.
So, the similarities really do echo through the ages.
Tim Maltin is the author of 101 Things You Things You Thought You Knew About the Titanic – But Didn’t!
