Like so many individuals in June 2023, I was glued to protection of the OceanGate Titan submersible after catastrophe struck the five-man crew en path to the Titanic wreckage. Two years after their tragic deaths, Titan: The Oceangate Submersible Catastrophe hit the 2025 Netflix schedule, and I was actually concerned with studying extra about what occurred. Then I found a second documentary on the implosion, and it affected me much more, particularly due to one really chilling second.
The story of the Titan catastrophe performed out like a real-life nightmare in 2023: On June 18, the doomed submersible descended into the Atlantic Ocean carrying OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, Titanic skilled Paul-Henri Nargeolet, businessmen Hamish Harding and Shahzada Dawood, and Dawood’s 19-year-old son Suleman. Till these documentaries hit the 2025 film calendar, I didn’t notice how a lot it led to the last word implosion that killed all 5, and the choice obtainable with a Max subscription has been particularly arduous to shake.
Two Documentaries On The 2023 Titan Submersible Implosion Are Streaming Now
Implosion: The Titanic Sub Catastrophe was the primary of the 2 launched, airing Might 28 on the Discovery Channel and streaming on Discovery+ and HBO Max. Netflix (which boasted a number of nice documentaries in 2024) then launched its personal Titan implosion documentary just a few weeks in a while June 11 — Titan: The Oceangate Submersible Catastrophe. Watching Netflix’s Titan doc was unnerving, to make certain, but it surely was footage from Discovery’s Implosion that basically shook me.
Precise Audio Of The Suspected Implosion Chilled Me To My Core
Each documentaries function previous interviews with Stockton Rush, in addition to some who labored for him and people working the U.S. Coast Guard’s investigation. Implosion: The Titanic Sub Catastrophe, nevertheless, places extra give attention to the Titan’s ultimate voyage and implosion. The truth is, it even performs a clip in which you’ll be able to hear what’s suspected to be the implosion.
Not solely will we hear the bang that occurred simply over 90 minutes after the Titan started its dive — as if that weren’t unsettling sufficient — we additionally see Stockton Rush’s spouse’s response to the noise. Wendy Rush served because the director of communications for OceanGate, so she was working comms for her husband’s dive — the corporate’s 88th.
In footage proven to investigators over a laptop computer on the Implosion documentary, she’s talking to a colleague once they hear a noise that investigators described as sounding like a door slamming. Wendy seems up and says:
What was that bang?
There’s a nervous smile on her face, after which she apparently acquired what can be the Titan’s ultimate message, reporting they’d “dropped two weights,” with investigators doing that math for the way lengthy it takes sound to journey via water. To that time, Wendy Rush had acquired a ping from her husband’s sub each 5 to 10 seconds, however nothing else would come from the Titan.
One mark of an excellent documentary, for my part, is how a lot precise footage there may be of the topic in query, in addition to credible sources who have been instantly concerned. Each Implosion: The Titanic Sub Catastrophe and Titan: The OceanGate Submersible Catastrophe (streaming with a Netflix subscription) have each of these in spades, however to listen to the alleged second that the craft’s carbon-fiber hull imploded was one thing I was not anticipating, and truthfully, it’s not one thing I’ve been capable of get out of my head.
The Coast Guard investigators appeared shocked, too. After they watched the footage a few instances, Jason Neubauer wiped his eyes as he mentioned:
That is, I imply you work, the deadly second, you understand, for all of them. It’s very sobering.
That portion of the documentary might have been essentially the most tense for me, however I was actually greatly surprised by Implosion general.
There Was Some Overlap Between The Two, But I Thought Implosion: The Titanic Sub Catastrophe Was More Impactful
Each the Implosion documentary on Max and Netflix’s Titan: The OceanGate Submersible Catastrophe used footage of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush; they each included testimony from the continued Coast Guard investigation, in addition to interviews with a number of former OceanGate workers to make their level.
In each circumstances, their level gave the impression to be that this was a preventable catastrophe, not an accident. Stockton Rush ignored warnings from a number of folks; he took steps to make sure he was not hindered by security rules; he fired individuals who tried to blow the whistle; and he very doubtless knew such a tragedy was all however inevitable. Nonetheless, he pressed on, accepted tons of of hundreds of {dollars} from every passenger and put civilians (together with a teen) in his sub.
Whereas The OceanGate Submersible Catastrophe on Netflix centered lots on the corporate’s chain of command, exhibiting how workers got here to work for Stockton Rush and the way and why they finally left, The Titanic Sub Catastrophe featured the experiences of many who had been part of earlier dives.
That included Discovery Channel host Josh Gates, who had deliberate to function the submersible on Expedition Unknown. Nonetheless, when all the things went mistaken on their dive, Gates mentioned he felt it could be irresponsible to advertise what Stockton Rush was doing, and the episode was scrapped.
It additionally had the harrowing recollection of a security diver, who grew to become emotional as he recalled serving to 19-year-old Suleman Dawood into the sub. And as for precise footage from June 18, 2023, we watch — for 15 uninterrupted seconds — an aerial shot of the Titan descending for the final time.
Watching Each Documentaries Offers A Fuller Image Of The Titan Catastrophe
Though I favored the documentary that may be streamed on HBO Max higher, I nonetheless suggest watching the Netflix one as effectively. It’s attention-grabbing to see how every filmmaking crew approached the occasion, particularly as a result of — as beforehand talked about — they used a number of the similar footage and talked to a number of the similar folks.
The truth is, watching each back-to-back made for a extra well-rounded expertise, as a result of in addition they every embody many elements not coated within the different. My suggestion is to look at each (beginning with Netflix’s Titan: The OceanGate Submersible Catastrophe) in case you are concerned with studying extra about what went mistaken on — and main as much as — that fateful day two years in the past. But in the event you solely have time or curiosity for one, make it Implosion: The Titanic Sub Catastrophe on Discovery+ and Max.