James Cameron accuses OceanGate of 'cutting corners' in constructing their doomed Titan submersible

PERTH, AUSTRALIA: Three-times Oscar-winning director James Cameron, also a deep-sea explorer, has commented on the OceanGate submersible Titan's catastrophic underwater implosion, stating that it has damaged the underwater industry's credibility.

The 'Titanic' director made the remarks on Sunday, May 24, at the Fremantle Maritime Museum in Perth, during an exhibition commemorating his record-breaking solo dive to Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, the ocean's lowest point.

James Cameron says the OceanGate tragedy was 'entirely preventable'

He said that the OceanGate Titan submersible incident in June 2023, which killed Captain Stockton Rush and four adventure tourists on board in an implosion 11,000 ft underwater and about 560 km off the coast of Newfoundland, was "entirely preventable."

“When you go down in a sub, you shouldn’t have to worry about imploding," he said, adding, "The first and foremost principle that you engineer against," is the possibility of an implosion.

The OceanGate submersible was descending to the Titanic wreck, around 12,000 ft (3,800 m) underwater, when it lost navigation and communications with its mother ship, MV Polar at around 11,000 ft (3,500 m) one hour and 45 minutes after the descent.

Experts later suggested the water pressure at the level would have collapsed the Titan hull within milliseconds killing OceanGate CEO and Titan pilot Stockton Rush, British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistan's richest man Shahzada Dawood, and his son Sulaiman.

James Cameron says people now think submersible diving is more dangerous following the 'preventable' mishap

The incident attracted a great deal of the public as it ended a 63-year record without a casualty in the sector.

Cameron accused OceanGate of "cutting corners" regarding safety while constructing the deep sea vessel as the company winded up operations following the tragedy.

He said one of the tragedies, "I think, is that people now think submersible diving is much more dangerous than it really is," The West Australian reported. 

This opinion was reflected in the company's 2019 blog post wherein they accepted that the Titan submersible fell out of accepted standards, but it "does not mean that OceanGate does not meet the standards where they apply."

In 2018, the Marine Technology Society sent a letter to OceanGate highlighting safety issues with the Titan, a message that OceanGate CEO Rush allegedly "disagreed" with.

James Cameron's thoughts on Titanc's replica 

Cameron was also asked if he would purchase a ticket for the maiden voyage of Australian billionaire Clive Palmer's planned Titanic replica called 'Titanic II'.

Cameron said, "If I had that much money, I'd spend it on science."

Notably, Cameron has traveled to the Titanic wreckage 33 times while directing his 1997 blockbuster 'Titanic'.

Palmer announced his plans for 'Titanic II' outside the Sydney Opera House on March 14, which will reenact the ill-fated 1912 trip from Southampton to New York in 2027.

He is likely to start construction in 2025. He has also planned to replicate much of the iconic Titanic's design in the replica.