The compass of the Titan submarine went "crazy" when it approached the Titanic wreckage.

Speaking to The Canadian Press on June 25, Mr. Arthur Loibl, a 60-year-old German businessman and explorer, revealed that during a visit to the Titanic wreck that he participated in in 2021, the Titan submersible had problems with its batteries and weight balance.

The Titan submersible during a previous dive - Photo: AP

The incident turned an eight-hour journey into more than ten hours as repairs took 90 minutes. It also left their approach to the Titanic in dim light as the Titan had to conserve battery power.

"Looking back, I'm really happy to have survived. I was very sad when my two friends PH and Rush died. I felt very bad because I thought this could have happened to me," Loibl admitted, referring to the two victims who died on the ship, Mr. Stockton Rush (CEO of OceanGate) and Mr. Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

Passengers enjoy returning to the Titanic wreck during a previous dive - Photo: OCEANGATE

Previously, the Titan submersible also encountered problems on its first test in May 2021, according to Mr. Brian Weed from the Discovery channel, who participated in the dive to film the report, revealed to AP.

When Titan was only 30 meters deep, the propulsion system stopped working, the computers became unresponsive, and communications were lost. The failure forced the dive to be aborted.

OceanGate then hired a consultant from the US Navy, whose report said there was insufficient research into Titan's carbon-fiber hull, and there were technical concerns that the hull would not maintain its performance over multiple dives.

After this conclusion, Mr. Weed, who had swum with sharks, explored in Siberia and many remote caves, decided to withdraw with his colleagues because of concerns that after each dive, the Titan's hull would weaken.

Meanwhile, Mike Reiss, a passenger on a 2022 dive, said his trip on Titan was smooth and enjoyable. However, he also revealed some turbulence that occurred as the submersible approached the Titanic wreck.

For example, the communications system did not always work properly, sometimes losing signal. The Titan's compass also started "working wildly" when the submersible was at the bottom of the ocean, near the Titanic.

"I don't know if it's an equipment error or a different magnetic field at 4,000 meters," said Mr. Reiss.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/thoi-su-quoc-te/la-ban-tau-lan-titan-tung-dien-cuong-khi-den-gan-xac-titanic-20230626161646038.htm