Insider reports:

Titan was allegedly steering with “hand-painted map”

Reports from former employees suggest incredible negligence on the part of those responsible.

(Bild: OceanGate Expeditions / AFP)

The circumstances surrounding the implosion of the Titan deep-sea vessel continue to cause head-scratching. After it has been known for some time that it was steered with a video game controller, a witness hearing has now brought further striking details to light.

The testimony of Antonella Wilby, a former employee of the submersible company Oceangate, is particularly eye-opening. In a hearing intended to shed light on the details of the accident, she stated that the Titan was using "idiotic" navigation methods.

Specifically, the submarine was steered through the shallows of the sea towards the Titanic using a "hand-drawn map" and an "Excel list".

Transferred from notebook to Excel list
Although there was also a positioning system on board, unlike other such vessels, the signals were not fed into software that displayed the boat's position. Instead, the so-called pings were sent to an accompanying boat, where the data was manually transferred to a notebook and then to an Excel list.

Only in a further step were the coordinates transferred to special mapping software in order to determine the exact position of the Titan - not on a conventional map, however, but on a hand-painted map of the Titanic's wreckage.

Employee transferred after safety concerns
This procedure not only sounds amateurish, it is also dangerous - in the past there have been repeated problems with the error-prone process. Wilby emphasized that she had repeatedly expressed her safety concerns. However, Oceangate explained that they were working on their own system anyway. After all, the ex-employee had been removed from navigation and transferred to other areas.

Chief engineer: "I'm not getting involved"
 Wilby is not alone in her criticism. Just last Monday, the former chief engineer of the Titan, Tony Nissen, also spoke out. He too had long refused to take a pilot ride in the vehicle due to safety concerns. Despite pressure from the company, he is said to have told Oceangate co-founder Stockton Rush: "I'm not getting on board." Another problem during development was often the high cost of the vehicle and the company boss's tight schedule.

"Nobody dies on my watch"
 As the BBC has now reported, there are said to have been repeated conflicts with employees, which Rush is said to have tried to shield. For example, there was a dispute with the former Director of Ship Operations, David Lochridge. He also expressed safety concerns, but these were simply dismissed by everyone.

Rush is said to have told him: "I have no desire to die ... I think this is one of the safest things I'll ever do ... I'm not dying. Nobody dies on my watch - period."

Company boss also among the fatalities
The submersible Titan, which was destined to visit the wreck of the Titanic, lost contact with the surface during a dive in the North Atlantic. Despite an extensive search operation, the boat could not be found in time.

All five people on board, including company founder Rush, lost their lives in this tragic accident. The exact cause of the accident is still under investigation.