11 October 2023 , 08:18
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The British father and son who perished in the Titanic tourist tragedy died 'hand-in-hand', their family said at the time of the tragedy.
Businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and teenager Suleman Dawood perished when the Titan submersible they were in suffered a catastrophic implosion close to the cursed liner.
Four months after the tragedy the recovery team has confirmed human remains have been found in the ocean. Hamish Harding, Shahzada and his teenage son Suleman, plus French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeole, Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, all died in the implosion. Recovery and transfer of remaining parts was completed last Wednesday, say the Coast Guard, and a photo showed the intact aft titanium endcap of the 22-foot (6.7-meter) vessel.
The Coast Guard has now recovered remaining debris, including presumed human remains, from the wreck site after the Titan imploded on a deep dive beneath the Atlantic Ocean's surface, officials said Tuesday. Following the tragedy Shahzada and Suleman's family led tributes to the two saying the relationship between father and son was “a joy to behold”, fierce criticism of the sub’s operators grew.
Businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman perished in the tragedy (DAWOOD HERCULES CORPORATION/AFP)In a statement on behalf of the Dawoods, it read: “With profound sorrow, we mourn the tragic loss of Shahzada and his beloved son, Suleman, who had embarked on a journey to visit the remnants of the legendary Titanic in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. “In this unfathomable tragedy, we try to find solace in the enduring legacy of humility and humanity that they have left behind and find comfort in the belief that they passed on to the next leg of their spiritual journey hand-in-hand, father and son.
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The pair were “each other’s greatest supporters and cherished a shared passion for adventure and exploration of all the world had to offer them”. It continued: “By being as they were with one another, they embodied valuable lessons on the pursuit of knowledge, exploration of the unknown, and bonds of familial friendship. Family values are a guiding beacon for the Dawood family, and Shahzada always strived to emulate these, teaching his children to do the same.”
Suleman’s former Surrey school, ACS International School Cobham, described the ex-pupil as a “remarkable young man” saying his “compelling enthusiasm” could fill a room. The tributes came after the teenager’s aunt revealed the Rubik's cube-loving teen was “terrified” about taking the ill-fated trip but decided to go along to please his dad.
The victims of the tragedy - Hamish Harding, Stockton Rush, Paul-Henri Nargeolet and the father and son (Dirty Dozen Productions/OceanGat)In a touching photo exclusively shared with Daily Express US, Shahzada Dawood is seen lovingly hugging his son Suleman. Azmeh Dawood said her younger brother Shahzada was “absolutely obsessed” with the famed shipwreck. She then told how her 19-year-old nephew was hesitant about embarking on the Titan, telling relatives he “wasn’t very up for it” and felt “terrified”. He only agreed to please his dad over the Father’s Day weekend.
Speaking from her home in Amsterdam, his aunt, Azmeh Dawood added: “If you gave me a million dollars, I would not have gotten into the Titan.” The Dawoods are believed to have died instantly along with British billionaire Hamish Harding, 58, the sub’s OceanGate boss Stockton Rush, 61, and French Navy veteran Paul-Henri (PH) Nargeolet, 77.
Rishi Sunak also offered his condolences to the family and friends of the five men who lost their lives. The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “His thoughts are very much with the loved ones of those who have died in this tragic incident, and they have been through an unimaginably difficult ordeal in the last few days.”
The deaths were subject to criticism of the Titan’s submersible owners as countless stories emerged over safety concerns. An American businessman told how he turned down cut-price seats on the doomed trip after raising his fear but was told by Rush it “was safer than crossing the street”.
Shahzada Dawood and his wife Christine (FACEBOOK)Jay Bloom shared text messages between himself and the OceanGate CEO showing he and his son, Sean, was offered “last minute” tickets for £120,000 each – a discount on the usual £195,000 fee. In a Facebook post, he said: “I expressed safety concerns, and Stockton told me: ‘While there’s obviously risk – it’s way safer than flying in a helicopter or even scuba diving’. He was absolutely convinced that it was safer than crossing the street. I am sure he really believed what he was saying. But he was very wrong”.
In February, Rush asked if Bloom and his wanted to see the Titanic in May. Both dives were postponed due to weather and were delayed until June 18. Bloom added: “Our seats went to Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman Dawood”. And another explorer, David Concannon, was set to join the doomed trip but was forced to cancel at the last minute due to a work meeting.
OceanGate also offered Robert Mester a voyage onboard the Titan’s predecessor Antipodes and later on Titan itself. Still, he said he turned it down after sighting its “off-the-shelf” equipment. Mester said: “Quite frankly, I found something else to take that time up rather than take the trip.
“[The Titan] has a carbon fibre hull, which, how do I put this… it’s not a material that’s ever been successfully used at great depths.”
Chris Brown, 61, of Harrogate, North Yorkshire paid his deposit in 2016 for the £80,000 voyage to the wreck but later pulled out over safety fears.
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Sulaiman Dawood, 19, is the youngest crewmember, pictured with his mother, ChristineHe said: “I found out they used old scaffolding poles for the sub's ballast. And its controls were based on computer game-style controllers. If you're trying to build your own submarine you could probably use old scaffold poles. But this was a commercial craft. Eventually I emailed them and said ‘I'm no longer able to go on this thing’.
"I asked for a refund after being less than convinced.”
William Kohnen, chairman of the Manned Underwater Vehicles Committee, has described the tragedy as “clearly preventable”, echoing similar comments by Titanic filmmaker James Cameron. Kohnen said the loopholes OceanGate exploited weren’t “very wise”. He said a tourism submersible like the Titan would not be allowed in US waters.
“The Coast Guard would not allow it,” he explained. It would not be allowed to work in British coastal waters because it would have required it to be certified. The same thing in Canada. It turns out that they operated in international waters, where no Coast Guard has jurisdiction.”
A former commander in the US Coast Reserve, Armin Cate, explained what he thought may have happened to the sub. “From my understanding, the submersible imploded,” he said. “In other words, the force of the water was so strong that it blew the back and the front of the submersible off”.
Cate added that in such an incident, “bolts are going to come free”. “And so the fact that they found the front cap and the back and different parts of the bottom and the middle tube no longer was connected to them tells me that’s what happened,” he said. “And it appears to me that both the front and the rear cap were blown out about the same time. So, it was a catastrophic failure due to the outside pressure of the water... on the actual hull or the canned part of the submersible.”
Before taking to Titan, passengers were forced to sign liability waivers before the submersible’s voyage. US maritime law expert Matthew Shaffer said if “aspects of the design or construction were kept from passengers” or if the vessel was knowingly operated despite being unsuitable for the dive, it could go against the document’s validity.
Ex-Secret Service agent and lawyer Timothy Allen agreed. He told the Mirror that “flaws or weaknesses” in the construction of submersibles can lead to “catastrophic failures”. He said if the cause of the implosion was “inherent defects in the mechanics or engineering, the responsible party may be held liable”.
On the other hand, OceanGate could argue that the waivers made clear the dangers involved in the deep-sea trek. Former Titan passenger and CBS reporter David Pogue, who made the Titanic trip with the firm last year, said the waiver he signed mentioned death three times on the first page.
OceanGate’s co-founder Guillermo Sohnlein insisted the company “followed protocols” during his time there, saying Rush was “well aware of the risks” involved with the deep sea dives. Asked about safety concerns previously raised by former employees and whether, to his knowledge of the company, they would have been taken on board, he said Rush was “always willing to listen to other people’s opinions and evaluate them”.
“If you could convince him, he was willing to change his mind - which is very rare in this kind of field,” Sohnlein added. He said the OceanGate CEO was “really pushing two things” - to expand deep-sea exploration capabilities and “ensure that it was done as safely as possible”.