OceanGate Expeditions' Titan: How submersible is different from a submarine?

A Titan submersible imploded and all five people on board were killed, it has been confirmed.

With this, the question being asked is: what is a submersible and how is it different from a submarine? Was Titan a submersible or was it a submarine?

A submersible is a watercraft, and it operates like a submarine. It is fitted with cameras outside, and it has a viewport. The passengers inside the submersible can watch through this viewport and he can have a view of the nearby outside world.


A submersible is generally used for research and exploration. It can also be used for searching the wreckage of the ship and documenting the underwater environment. Submersibles are generally connected to a mother vessel through a tether, but Titan was left free.

But a submersible has not enough power to dive and operate itself, unlike a submarine. It has no crew, and it is controlled and operated from outside.

The U.S. Coastguard has said that the submersible suffered a ‘catastrophic implosion’ and all five people onboard have perished.

The implosion seems to be so powerful that the submersible was broken into two parts, two pieces of its hulls have been discovered and the Titan has gone down to 13,000 feet deep in the North Atlantic Ocean. Those onboard were French navy veteran Paul Henry Nargeolet, British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistan-born British businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman and OceanGate Expeditions chief executive Stockton Rush.

FAQs:

What is a submersible?
A submersible is a watercraft, and it operates like a submarine. It is fitted with cameras outside, and it has a viewport. But a submersible has not enough power to dive and operate itself, unlike a submarine. It has no crew, and it is controlled and operated from outside.

Who were onboard the submersible Titan?
Those onboard were French navy veteran Paul Henry Nargeolet, British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistan-born British businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman and OceanGate Expeditions chief executive Stockton Rush.