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As the search for the missing submarine from OceanGate continues, a video about how the bolts on the vessel were tightened has recently sparked concern online. Ian Miles Cheong shared a video clip capturing how a mechanic tightened the Titan submersible bolts with hand ratchets.
It made some netizens more worried about the safety of the five people inside the missing watercraft than they already had been. However, a readers’ context was added to Ian’s tweet, where it was stated that the first object being used by the mechanic to tighten bolts on the pictured vessel is a hand ratchet.
However, the second tool that was used to ensure proper pressure is called a torque wrench. This tool is also claimed to be used by naval forces. The context further reasoned that overtightening the bolts could cause a catastrophic failure, implying that due to this, a hand ratchet was used.
The video was reposted by another Twitter account called AlphaFox. The account asked viewers in the caption of the post if they would go to the Titanic knowing that someone had to bolt them inside by hand.
One user, @ABookly_83, exclaimed in the reply and called the design of the submarine terrible. They further added that it was something a sci-fi writer from the 19th century may come up with.
Internet expresses concern about the missing Titan submarine
Ian Miles Cheong’s tweet containing the viral video, where a mechanic was using hand ratchets to tighten the bolts on the missing submersible, raked over 5 million views. While some people in the comments wrote that tightening the bolts with hand tools was perfectly fine, others still pointed out the risk factors.
Missing OceanGate submarine is run using a video game controller?
The Titan submersible carrying five people on board went missing on Sunday, June 18, about two hours after it initiated its dive. The vessel set out to visit the wreckage site of the RMS Titanic, which lies about 13,000 feet below the surface in the North Atlantic Ocean.
According to Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, the company that conducted the tour, the Titan is controlled by a video gamer controller. In 2022, during a trip inside the company’s one-of-a-kind submersible made of carbon fiber, Stockton held up the controller and said:
"We run the whole thing with this game controller."
After the submarine went missing, the fact was brought up by many and raised questions regarding the vitality of the watercraft as well as the viability of its hardware.
The device, which the CEO spoke about in 2022, resembled the widely available Logitech F710 wireless gamepad. However, it is now unclear whether the device had been customized or modified before the crew members embarked on their journey on Sunday.
Aside from that, it is also not clear if the company still used the video game controller on Titan for this trip. Unfortunately, the CEO himself had been the operator of this trip, making him one of the five people on board the missing sub.
Steve Wright, an associate professor teaching Aerospace Engineering at the University of the West of England, said that several sea vessels and aircraft are partially controlled by devices that resemble a video game controller. However, the devices controlling submarines are aircraft are a bit more advanced than the average PlayStation controller.
