One June 18th, 2023 communication was lost between the Titan submersible vessel and its mother ship, MV Polar Prince. In the span of roughly an hour and a half, the vessel and all fives of its passengers went from trying to view the wreckage of the Titanic, to losing their lives. It was at the time and still is today, a tragedy. And in the almost two years since that accident, it has also become a tale of untamed ambition, hubris, and wanton disregard for safety. All of this is set to be captured in the upcoming Netflix documentary, “TITAN: The OceanGate Disaster.”
In case you need a quick refresher on OceanGate and the tragedy surrounding it, it was a company founded by a man named Stockton Rush with the aim of providing undersea tourism to people. Rush himself had taken numerous trips to the wreckage of Titanic. His OceanGate company had developed their own type of submersible craft that substituted carbon fiber in for more traditional materials like steel, titanium, and aluminum. Allegedly, Rush was adamant that this was the way to go and seemed to be proven wrong when his craft imploded under the pressure of approximately 400 atmospheres.
The death of Rush and the people who travelled down with him was arguably preventable, as has been stated by numerous experts in the aftermath of the implosion. The Netflix documentary almost immediately makes no qualms about this with interviewees declaring Rush a madman and someone who would stamped over others in order to get what he wanted. Safety did not seem to have any bearing on his work in the name of progress. At least, that’s the impression being given from the brief talking points we hear in the trailer.
The hubris comes from Stockton assuring others that this vessel was safe. Anyone who watched the safety hearings and investigations from 2024 would know otherwise, if the wreckage of Titan wasn’t enough proof as is. Hopefully this documentary will be comprehensive given all the investigations and testimonials that have taken place since the tragedy happened. If there’s any justice to be had in the deaths that resulted from this absolute mess, it’s that a documentary of this kind could shed some light on why progress without safety can blow up in people’s faces. Quite literally.
“TITAN: The OceanGate Disaster” hits Netflix June 11th, 2025.
