Poignant moment ship which carried doomed Titanic sub returns to port as probe into tragedy gets underway

THE ship which carried the doomed Titan sub passengers returned to shore as an investigation got under way yesterday. Police and safety experts boarded the Polar Prince shortly after it docked in Newfoundland, Canada. PAThe Polar Prince, the main support ship for the Titan submersible, arrived at the Port of St. John’s in Newfoundland, Canada[/caption] Doug Seeburg/News Group Newspapers LtdCanadian authorities have announced an investigation into the tragedy[/caption] They will ask about safety operations and why the alarm was not raised until eight hours after contact was lost with the submersible. The launching platform from which the 22ft sub was dropped was also taken into the harbour and is likely to be examined. The Polar Prince carried the craft from St John’s last Sunday as it headed 435 miles to the wreck of the Titanic, which the five-strong crew had planned to explore. They died from a “catastrophic implosion” of the mini-sub just an hour and 45 minutes after it submerged in the North Atlantic. Canada’s Transportation Safety Board announced on Friday night it would be launching an investigation into the tragedy. Officials travelled to Newfoundland and are set to “gather information, conduct interviews and assess the occurrence”. The probe will not determine civil or criminal liability, but is for the “advancement of transportation safety”. The search and rescue operation for the Titan, spanning 10,000 square miles, was wound down after debris from the sub was found on Thursday morning. Experts said the victims, including three Britons — billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, 55, businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old university student son Suleman — would have died within milliseconds of the implosion. The US Coast Guard said two debris fields found 1,600ft from the Titanic wreckage, which is 12,500ft underwater, included the ten-ton Titan’s nose cone and front and back ends of its pressure hull. Rear Admiral John Mauger said the find was consistent with a catastrophic implosion. The chances of the men’s bodies being discovered are next to none. But remotely operated vehicles are scouring for more clues at the site. Horizon Arctic, which carried the ROV that found the Titan wreckage, was also still at the search site yesterday. Also among the victims were 77-year-old French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet — known as Mr Titanic — and Stockton Rush, 61, the CEO of OceanGate, which operates the Titanic tours. Yesterday The Sun revealed that documentary maker Ross Kemp, 58, planned to record a TV show in which he dived down to the Titanic in an OceanGate submersible. But the production company pulled out after deciding it was unsafe for anyone to board the vessel after it did its own checks. OceanGateDebris from the Titan was found on Thursday morning[/caption] Among the dead was OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, operator of the Titanic tours AFPShahzada Dawood, vice-chairman of Karachi conglomerate Engro, and his student son Suleman were also killed when the Titan imploded[/caption] Space Launch NowBillionaire Hamish Harding was one of three Brits onboard the Titan[/caption] 77-year-old French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet — known as Mr Titanic, was one of the five dead