In 1914, two years after the ship sank. TitanicThe world’s leading maritime countries met in London and International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)It is the most important treaty regarding the safety of ships and their passengers. With regulations revised several times over the decades, unified rules for example, about the number of lifeboats, distress signals, communication or obligation to assist. Now, after Titan’s catastrophic explosion, many experts believe that a a similar effort to achieve regulation of manned underwater vehicles and especially, like the sinister OceanGate ship, in international waters and the deep ocean.
The marshy area is well known in terms of regulations over which OceanGate is transported. It has not requested certification or approval from independent organizations. common in the industry. This lack of verification that it complies with key safety parameters in its engineering is something that has caused warning alerts from experts for years. And it also raises suspicion, because these classifications are often a requirement for obtaining insurance.
operating in the area where the Titanic sank under the maritime jurisdiction of neither the United States nor Canadaand since the diver is transported on a ship to the high seas, the usual rules do not apply. Headquartered in Washington state, the company did not have to comply with the regulations that would affect it if it were to make its dives in the territorial waters of one of these two countries, and like most divers, its ship did not have to comply. All submarines were subject to strict security procedures and inspections each time they sailed and berthed, and were not required to fly a flag.
“There is literally no requirement, because no one is implementing it,” he said. mercogliano salt, In an interview with ‘New York’ magazine, a former merchant shipping and maritime historian at Campbell University in North Carolina reminded that some call it that for nothing. deep ocean “rogue sea”.
Mercogliano believes that probably now both the US and Canada will adopt more regulationsAs he explained to The Washington Post. And think that International Maritime Organization (IMO), specialist agency United NationsYou can take steps to try to make submarines like Titan, which is required to register like any other ship. as cargo of ships until now carrying them
Expert, OceanGate and its Founder and CEO Stockton Rush (who piloted the exploding submarine) put innovation before any other consideration “the diver industry wants rulesStandard wants.” aviation industry, Remembering how, at the turn of the 20th century, after accidents, governments and associations got together to pass laws that “make you board a plane today and fly 9,000 meters without a second thought”. There will come a time when you will not think twice about getting in a submersible and descending 4,000 meters.”, said Mercogliano, “but we haven’t gotten there yet”.
Human and economic cost
George Rutherglen, a professor of maritime law at the University of Virginia, said he would be surprised if the Titan tragedy was not responded to with more regulation. Resources deployed in search and rescue operation.
“I would be surprised if any event with all these costs, both in terms of unjustified deaths and expensive rescue, doesn’t lead to some action,” he told the Associated Press. A Push to pass legislation in Congress and the United States can measures such as preventing vessels carrying unregulated vessels from berthing at their ports.
Somehowever, it is shown skeptics that there will be changes. Forrest Booth, a San Francisco attorney, reminded that “IMO has no jurisdiction.” And if states try to agree to an international deep ocean treaty, resistance of the nations For example, who wants deep inside me. “I don’t think much will happen when media interest wanes. This case,” he told the AP.
An end to depth tourism and the Titanic
The Titan tragedy also raised voices calling for a call. Deep in tourism pause in general and Visits to the wreck of the Titanic especially. Among them is that of Michael Guillen, a scientist who nearly died when his submarine was stranded near the ‘Titanic’ and is reminded on CNN to defend that position. “The sea is dangerous. It’s not a playground.”.
He also asked her to stop Charles Haas president of the Titanic International Society, a US charity founded in 1989 to preserve the history of the iconic shipwreck. “C timeSeriously consider whether crewed voyages to the Titanic should end for safety”, Haas assured in a statement. “There is relatively little left to learn from the wreckage and the role of manned underwater vehicles can be assigned to autonomous unmanned vehicleslike those who produced a detailed, high-resolution 3D map of the wreckage and debris field last year.”
“ intensive control before deep-sea diver service should be subject to international regulations”Haas defended. “Just as the Titanic taught the world security lessons, so should the loss of Titan.”