James Cameron calls Titan disaster an 'extreme outlier' in deep sea safety record

The implosion of the Titan submersible was an "extreme outlier" in the world of deep sea exploration, says Hollywood director and deep sea explorer James Cameron.

The Titan submersible, an uncertified tourism vessel built to explore the wreckage of the Titanic, went missing off the coast of Newfoundland on June 18. Days later, its five occupants were found to have died in a catastrophic implosion.

Cameron, who has made more than 30 dives to the wreckage of the Titanic, said previous tourism trips to the Titanic and elsewhere in the ocean's depths have collectively logged millions of hours — safely.

"No fatalities, no incidents, no deaths, no implosions — until today," he said, referring to Titan.

"This is an extreme outlier of a data point that in a sense proves the rule. And the rule is we've been safe for half a century."

Cameron spoke at an event in Ottawa on Tuesday promoting Pressure: James Cameron into the Abyss, a summer exhibition at the Canadian Geographic headquarters.

The exhibit features the submersible Deepsea Challenger, which Cameron solo piloted in 2012 to the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean.

'Reminded of the possibility of human failure'

U.S.-based OceanGate, the company that privately owned and operated Titan, had long been a source of concern for undersea explorers.

Cameron said that unlike Titan, Deepsea Challenger underwent years of careful preparation and testing. OceanGate, he said, didn't approach its work with the same "rigour and discipline" required of responsible deep sea exploration.

"We have over a half century of a perfect safety record as the deep submergence community," Cameron said. "Actual exploration. Actual research."

He said one of Titan's five occupants at the time of its implosion, former French navy officer and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, was a friend. For Cameron, learning of Nargeolet's death was an "emotional shock."

"It's like a gut punch," he said.

But Cameron pointed to a silver lining in the Titan disaster.

"We have to be reminded of the possibility of human failure," he said.

Such a reminder, he added, may push international agencies to draft needed regulations for any passenger vessels descending to the deep ocean.

'A blind assassin'

Cameron's childhood mentor Joe MacInnis, who has written about ocean exploration, also spoke at the event in Ottawa.

He told CBC he believes the ocean is a "blind assassin," for which OceanGate was not prepared.

"She has winds, waves, colds, currents, pressures that bend steel, and she is totally indifferent to human ambition," MacInnis said.

During Cameron's trip to the Mariana Trench, Deepsea Challenger captured footage which became part of a 2014 documentary and will be featured at the exhibit in Ottawa.

Pressure combines the story of Cameron's descent with educational tools to highlight human "connection and responsibility to the ocean," according to a news release for the event.

It will run from June 5 to Sept. 1 and admission is free.