--- title: "Imploded Submersible Apparently Lacked Extremely Basic Location Tech" description: "An expert says that OceanGate's Titan submersible lacked basic location technology that would have made recovering it \"routine.\"" date: "2023-06-23" modified: "2023-06-23" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/submersible-basic-location-tech" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "deep sea" - "submersible" - "the digest" --- # Imploded Submersible Apparently Lacked Extremely Basic Location Tech ![An expert says that OceanGate's Titan submersible lacked basic location technology that would have made recovering it "routine."]() *\Image: OceanGate Expeditions\* ## Marco Polo In the wake of the tragic OceanGate submersible disaster — which has officially [claimed the lives]() of all five passengers onboard — the OceanGate CEO's [lack of commitment]() to basic safety measures only continues to get clearer. In addition to several [eyebrow-raising revelations](), an expert [told *Inverse*]() that the submersible lacked basic location technology that would have made recovering it "routine" — that is if it hadn't catastrophically imploded on its way to the wreck of the Titanic. "Recovery of deep-sea instruments on the sea bed equivalent to that of the Titanic site is routine when the precise position is known," William Ryan, an oceanographer at Columbia University, told *Inverse*. "I have recovered instruments from the deep seabed as small as a living room chair and as large as a living room couch." These standard technologies, the expert says, would have included an acoustic pinger — a device that transmits a repetitive pulse of sound back to the submersible's controlling ship — and location-pinpointing radio beacon that both don't rely on the submersible's main power source. "The fact that this submersible did not have an independently powered acoustic pinger and radio beacon for geolocation," Ryan told *Inverse*, "is a fault of the operators." ## Save Our Souls Of course, considering that experts have determined that the deep sea tourism sub was most likely destroyed during its descent as the result of a "[catastrophic implosion]()," these specific tools wouldn't have been of much use to those looking to save lives. Even so, in the case that the Titan had suffered some other kind of malfunction or interruption such as a power failure or getting trapped in a loose fishing net, these standardized tools would likely have made it possible for rescue teams to locate the missing submersible in time — as opposed to forcing rescuers to race against the clock as the submersible ran out of air. And there's a precedent. In 2021, a remotely operated vehicle called Hercules got lost but was recovered within a day thanks to layered location technology, as *Inverse* reports. ## Extreme Danger This revelation also comes amid a slew of reports regarding OceanGate's [dismissal of a former employee](), who was fired in 2018 after lodging a complaint that the company could "subject passengers to potential extreme danger in an experimental submersible." OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, [who fashioned himself as a rule-breaking innovator](), is also on record saying that focusing too much on safety was a "[waste]()." Tragically, Rush was one of the five passengers on board the Titan. It's a grim reminder that some rules aren't made to be broken — especially when it comes to equipping yourself and your crew with some basic life-saving redundancies. **More on the Titan:** [*A Visibly Upset James Cameron Compares Submarine Implosion to Sinking of the Titanic*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()