Titan submersible tragedy sends shockwaves through North Vancouver business

News of the Titan submersible’s implosion and the deaths of all five people aboard sent shockwaves through the undersea exploration community Friday, a small group with several B.C. connections.

Jeff Heaton, operations manager and chief submersible pilot for Nuytco Research, a North Vancouver company that designs and builds submersibles, said the news was causing “a lot of introspection” at the end of a hard week.

Heaton knew two of the five people onboard the Titan, which imploded during an expedition to the wreckage of the Titanic in the North Atlantic earlier this week. On Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed debris had been found about 500 metres from the shipwreck.

Heaton said the deaths are unlikely to change how his company operates because it follows codes and standards that have made it “very safe.”

“We need to consider this as an anomaly because their vehicle was not to code and did not adhere to those standards,” he said.