Titanic to ‘return to Netflix’ on 1 July

It is not clear whether the decision was made before or after the Titan submersible went missing on 18 June

The 1997 blockbusterTitanic will return to Netflix in July - just weeks after a doomed expedition to the ocean liner’s resting place on the oceanfloor.

The movie, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet is returning to the streaming platform on 1 July, according to HuffPost, along nearly 100 other titles.

The Independent could not independently confirm this report, and has contacted Netflix for comment.

Five crew members were killed on Oceangate Expedition’s Titan submersible as it voyaged 12,00ft down in the Atlantic ocean to view the Titanic’s wreckage.

It is unclear whether the decision to add Titanic was made before or after the Titan submersible tragedy this week but some on social media suggested Netflix “could’ve picked a better time” and suggested that the company was seizing on the tragedy to increase viewing figures.

Others said the streaming service could be merely responding to demands from viewers.

The movie, which follows the fictional romance between an aristocrat and an artist onboard the Titanic, is already available on Paramount+ and Amazon Prime.

Last week Titanic director, James Cameron, who claims to have spent more time inside the Titanic than its captain, told ABC News that the Titan’s tragedy was avoidable.

The submersible, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, was on its way to the Titanic wreckage when it lost communication with its surface ship just one hour and 45 minutes into its descent. The Coast Guard announced on Thursday (22 June) that debris from the sub was located approximately 12,500 feet underwater.

On board the watercraft were OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his teenage son Suleman Dawood.

“I’m struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship, and yet, he steamed up full speed into an ice field on a moonless night, and many people died as a result,” Mr Cameron told ABC, criticising safety issues with the Titan.

“And for a very similar tragedy, where warnings went unheeded, to take place at the same exact site, with all the diving that’s going on all around the world, I think it’s just astonishing, it’s really quite surreal.”

It has since emerged that the submersible relied on a design featuring key components made out of carbon fibre, which experts say hasn’t been proven as a reliable material for deep-sea use.

“Innovation is a wonderful thing,” Bart Kemper, a mechanical engineer from the Marine Technology Society, told NBC News. “But everything that is new and not tried introduces uncertainty, and uncertainty is risk.”

A lawsuit filed by a former OceanGate employee in 2018 and obtained by The New Republic also listed “visible flaws” with the vessel that were reportedly ignored by senior management. Submarine experts had also signed a letter expressing “unanimous concern” with the company’s decision not to seek outside evaluation and testing before bringing passengers down to the Titanic.

The Independent has contacted OceanGate for comment on the allegations.

A 2019 post on OceanGate’s website stated that the Titan was not classed by major marine operations because those certifications “do not ensure that operators adhere to proper operating procedures and decision-making processes – two areas that are much more important for mitigating risks at sea,” according to CNN.

Following the tragic incident, the company issued a statement mourning the deaths of the five passengers.

OceanGate Expeditions’ Titan submersible which imploded, killing all five passengers (OceanGate Expeditions)

“These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans,” the release read.

“Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.”

Multi-agency investigations into the catastrophic implosion are now underway, Canadian and US authorities have said.

Canadian officials revealed on Saturday that audio and commands between the Titan and its mother ship Polar Prince will be analysed as part of their probe.

The chair of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, Kathy Fox, said that the crew was interviewed to “collect information from the vessel’s voyage data recorder and other vessel systems that contain useful information,” according to CNN.