- RMS Titanic, Inc. released a map of where debris from the Titan submersible landed in relation to the shipwreck.
- The sonar map details how close the Titan submersible was to the Titanic wreck.
- A version of the map was made, in part, by Paul-Henri Nargeolet, one of the Titan victims.
One of the passengers who perished on the Titan submersible last month helped create a map of the Titanic shipwreck that is now being used to mark the doomed sub's proximity to the century-old passenger liner on the ocean floor.
The company that owns the rights to the Titanic shipwreck and all its sunken relics released a seabed map in court documents filed Saturday which shows where search crews discovered the remains of the lost Titan submersible.
The exploratory vessel imploded last month after it disappeared during a dive to the Titanic gravesite with five passengers onboard.
First reported by The New York Times on Monday, the sonar map images were created by the company RMS Titanic Inc. and filed in federal court over the weekend as an exhibit in a filing meant to keep the government up to date with how the company was aiding in the search for the lost Titan.
Experts with the company annotated the map to highlight just how close the exploratory vehicle now lies to the shipwreck it sought to observe, The Times reported.
The map denotes the "Titan Debris Field" located to the right of the Titanic's looming bow. The Coast Guard previously said the Titan's debris was found about 1,600 feet from the ship's bow.
In a tragic coincidence, the map was partially developed by Paul Henri Nargeolet, 77, the French submersible expert who made his name as the preeminent Titanic historian and died on board the Titan last month during his 38th dive to the shipwreck, the president of RMS Titanic, Inc. told The Times.
"Part of it was his," Jessica Sanders, president of RMS Titanic, told the Times.
Nargeolet worked for RMS Titanic, Inc. for two decades, helping the company lead five expeditions to the wreck of the Titanic to collect over 5,000 artifacts from the ship. The company, which runs the "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" in Orlando exhibiting the artifacts Nargeolet has collected over the years, has been regarded by some as high-tech grave robbers, Insider's Katherine Long reported.
RMS Titanic, Inc. paid tribute to their former employee in the court documents, citing his "unparalleled knowledge of the Titanic wreck."
"P.H.'s love and passion for Titanic drew him to Titan, and OceanGate welcomed him as a true expert," the court document reads. "Because he was RMST's full-time Director of Underwater Research, the Company gave him dispensation to participate as a guest on the OceanGate expedition."
The Coast Guard's Marine Board of Investigation is currently looking into the events that led to the explosion of the Titan submersible and will hold a public hearing in 12 to 18 months, per the court documents. Other entities, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, are also looking into the incident.
RMS Titanic Inc didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.