# Titanic tourist submarine missing 6-19-2023 (Debris field found, passengers presumed dead. 06-22-23) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news\ **Created:** [June 19, 2023, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781 "2023-06-19T16:29:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 24
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/461 "2023-06-22T21:53:22Z")
If the debris was found next to the Titanic, why did it take so long to locate? Isn’t that the first place you would look? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/462 "2023-06-22T21:54:29Z")
It took several days to get a submersible to where it was needed. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/463 "2023-06-22T21:54:36Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > Just like a tube of toothpaste. Except that when you squeeze a tube of toothpaste, the paste shoots out the front because there’s no pressure on that part of the tube. This sub would have had equal pressure pushing on it from all sides. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/464 "2023-06-22T21:56:19Z")
I’m somewhat surprised they found it as quick as they did, if at all. It be dark as the inside of a cow down there! ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/465 "2023-06-22T21:59:34Z")
When I read that article, I see the phrase: “The first piece of debris discovered …” Not “recovered”. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/466 "2023-06-22T22:03:07Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > Scott Manley explains that the depressurisation would have made a very very big bang: Very, very big bang. In my line of work, we use airguns to release highly pressurized air into the ocean to create controlled bangs, which we use to determine the structure of the earth below the seafloor. The volumes involved are much, much smaller than the interior of that vessel and still big enough to kill any marine life in the near vicinity and deafen marine creatures for miles around. Presumably this means the implosion occurred very early on - possibly on the Sunday they started the dive or possibly Monday before search vessels got to the area, but the experts will have to confirm over the course of the investigation. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/467 "2023-06-22T22:05:10Z")
Question for those knowledgable: Would the implosion have been heard above the water? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/468 "2023-06-22T22:05:53Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I’m wondering whether the life insurance companies will pay off. There’s generally a two year limit to the suicide exclusion on life insurance, and i don’t think life insurers can reasonable can this suicide. If the deceased had life insurance, it will pay out. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/469 "2023-06-22T22:06:15Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Question for those knowledgable: Would the implosion have been heard above the water? Possibly (or even probably) not. At those depths, I would think much of the energy would be constrained underwater. Maybe if you happened to be directly above it when it happened and listening for it. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/470 "2023-06-22T22:10:03Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > This sub would have had equal pressure pushing on it from all sides. Yes and no. The structure of the submarine itself is going to be harder to collapse in some places than others. Likewise, the direction that the structure is strongest will vary in parts and be weaker to certain angles of attack. Overall, that’s going to create a situation where certain parts go before others and where things might tear rather than collapse. If you were to compact an empty can of cola fast enough, it’s going to mostly crumple vertically. But you could also end up with some tears where the crumpling effect causes the metal to stretch further than it can be stretched. The tear will be ejecting air and (in this case) create a zone of higher pressure right at the point of the tear than is around the rest of the can. It’s not going to be perfectly symmetrical because, even though the ocean itself is exerting pressure in a fairly uniform way, the device and how its contents move around won’t be. But, granted, the extremeness of the external pressure might be so massive that the subtle asymmetries being introduced are largely irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/471 "2023-06-22T22:10:20Z")
Yeah, comparison to suicide was my initial thought. But in my limited experience, it is not uncommon for insurers to expect the insured to disclose risky behaviors/recreation. They would likely expect higher premiums from someone who skydives or mountain climbs. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/472 "2023-06-22T22:13:42Z")
With all the publicity around this event, insurers should just pay out life insurance policies without question. Any insurer who withholds payment is going to see their name all over the internet and news as not wanting to pay. That kind of negative publicity is not good for business when you’re trying to attract customers worth billions. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/473 "2023-06-22T22:14:07Z")
Could OceanGate rebrand these submersibles as fish food makers? 💡 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/474 "2023-06-22T22:14:19Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > > [@Miller](#): > > > > How would any recognizable body parts get ejected out of the hole, when there’s thousands of tons of water pouring through it? > > Just like a tube of toothpaste. And about the same consistency, I’d imagine - except I don’t think anything would be “ejected”. At _Titanic_ depths google tells me there are 375 atmospheres of pressure. Consulting my knowledge (and Wikipedia) on other pressure differential accidents I thought of the Byford Dolphin incident, which only involved 8 atmospheres difference in pressure. Since it involves gruesome stuff please either click on “summary” to read further or just skip it if you’d rather not, or are planning to eat in the near future: > **Summary** > > On the Byford Dolphin the diver in the pressurized vessel nearest the door was basically extruded through a narrow opening, which resulted in what is usually described as “fragmenting” his body. A portion of his spine a few inches long was launched upward (keep in mind, the door was on the _bottom_ of the vessel, facing _downward_) and landed 30 feet (10 meters) above the accident scene. His internal organs were extruded from his body and strewn about the local waters. I’m pretty sure you can find photos from the investigation if you really want to look at that sort of thing, but I’m not going to search for them or look at something like that. Also pretty sure not all of him was recovered. > > An implosion at _Titanic_ depths would be so much worse. The bodies would have been rendered into paste. Also, the sudden compression would cause local heating, so it would be _cooked_ meat paste. There are no bodies to recover. The local bottom-feeding scavengers might detect an unusual taste of fresh meatiness in the local water, but probably wouldn’t even find chunks to actually eat. Local bacteria, though, might enjoy the snack before going back to making rusticles on the hull of the _Titanic_. For sure, the local sea life will make the most of this sudden input of edibles into the local environment. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/475 "2023-06-22T22:21:46Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Consulting my knowledge (and Wikipedia) on other pressure differential accidents I thought of the Byford Dolphin incident, which only involved 8 atmospheres difference in pressure. Since it involves gruesome stuff please either click on “summary” to read further or just skip it if you’d rather not, or are planning to eat in the near future: Well, I’m convinced then. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/476 "2023-06-22T22:22:26Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Overall, that’s going to create a situation where certain parts go before others and where things might tear rather than collapse. If you were to compact an empty can of cola fast enough, it’s going to mostly crumple vertically. But you could also end up with some tears where the crumpling effect causes the metal to stretch further than it can be stretched. The tear will be ejecting air and (in this case) create a zone of higher pressure right at the point of the tear than is around the rest of the can. Yeah, I get that the crushed sub likely has a bunch of holes in the hull at this point. The issue is that when those hole formed, they were instantly filled with, again, thousands of tons of water. How is anything going to get ejected past that in anything like a recognizable condition? How is the one atmosphere of pressure inside the sub going to end up being greater than the 375 atmospheres pushing on it from outside? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/477 "2023-06-22T22:23:44Z")
Yeah, at 375:1, it’s probably moot. Nevermind, forget the tangent. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/478 "2023-06-22T22:24:03Z")
That, too. My brother had an employee who quit the Friday before 9/11 to work for a bond broker in one of the towers. She died when the building collapsed. She should have had life insurance through one of the two employers, his company if she hasn’t started the new job, yet, and the new company if she had. Both insurers initially denied coverage, because (surprise!) A the new employer hadn’t filled paperwork with the insurance company before her death. He got representatives from both companies on a teleconference, and told them that if they didn’t figure out which one was paying the family within a week, he was going to the newspapers. Her family was paid a couple days later. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/479 "2023-06-22T22:24:56Z")
I was not thinking of body parts at all, I doubt that any will be recovered. I’m talking about pieces of the sub. Didtye porthole blow out? Did the hull delaminate? These things would be good to know for future designs. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/480 "2023-06-22T22:27:39Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > 1. The rear admiral says he cannot confirm whether the bodies can be recovered, saying it is an “incredibly unforgiving environment” That’s the polite way to say “there are no bodies to recover because they evaporated.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781.md?page=23) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781.md?page=25)