What Do Orcas And 'Iron Lung' Have To Do With The Missing Titanic Submarine?

The submarine 'Titan,' which went missing during its descent to the wreck of Titanic on Sunday, remains the center of the world's attention as the search and rescue efforts continue. While hopes to recover the passengers alive and well dwindle with every passing minute, people on social media are wasting no time to crack jokes and make memes about the situation, harrowing, but morbidly hilarious to many. Learn everything about the OceanGate submarine incident and what anti-capitalist Orcas and popular indie horror game Iron Lung have to do with it.

What Is Going On with the Missing Titanic Submarine?

On Sunday, June 18th, five-man experimental submarine 'Titan,' operated by tour firm OceanGate, went missing during its descent to the wreck of RMS Titanic. Onboard the sub were five passengers, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who piloted the sub.

Contact with the sub was lost at approximately 10:47 EST on June 18th. The vessel carried a supply of breathable air enough to last 96 hours, meaning that the passengers could run out of air in the morning of June 2023.

The joint search and rescue operation by the United States Coast Guard, United States Navy and Canadian Coast Guard began on June 19th. On June 20th, a Canadian CP-140 Aurora's sonar registered banging sounds coming at 30-minute intervals in the area where the submarine disappeared. An additional sonar deployed four hours later confirmed the finding.

As of 4:30 PM EST June 21st, the Titan submersible had not been found.

Who Are the Five People on the Missing Submarine?

The missing Titan submarine carried five people on board:

• Shahzada Dawood, British-Pakistani businessman
• Suleman Dawood, 19-year-old son of Shahzada Dawood
• Hamish Harding, British billionaire and aviator
• Paul-Henry Nargeolet, French deep see explorer and Titanic expert
• Stockton Rush, CEO and founder of OceanGate and submersible pilot

How Much Oxygen Does the Submarine Have Left?

As of 4:30 PM EST on June 21st, the Titan submarine is estimated to have approximately 16 hours of breathable air left.

Does Titan Submarine Have a Video Game Controller?

Following the disappearance of the submarine, a 2022 article by CBS News journalist David Pogue was rediscovered. Notably, the article contained descriptions of "MacGyver jerry-riggedness" present on the sub, most notably construction pipes being used as ballast and a video game controller being used to pilot the sub. A modified Logitech G F710 controller being used to pilot the submarine became a viral subject of jokes and memes.

Who Is Brian Szasz, And What's His Connection With The Missing Submarine Passengers?

Another controversy linked to the disappearance of 'Titan' is linked to Brian Szasz, the stepson of British billionaire Hamish Harding, one of the passengers of the sub. On June 19th, Szasz made a now-deleted Facebook post about attending a Blink-182 concert while the search operation for his stepfather was underway.

Moreover, more damning information about Szasz surfaced, including reports that in the summer of 2021, Szasz posted threatening tweets to women in the rave community.

What Are The Orca Submarine Memes?

The fact that the Titan submarine carried several rich tourists inspired memes that orcas were behind the disappearance of the Titan submarine. Why orcas? For the past two years, there were multiple reports of orca attacks on ships sailing in waters around Europe. Scientists believe that the unusual behavior started in 2020 after a wounded orca whale fought back against an illegal fishing ship, with orcas teaching each other to attack boats ever since.

In the past month, memes humorously explaining the orca behavior with their disdain for the rich achieved major popularity. Now, after a submarine carrying rich tourists to see the wreck of Titanic has gone missing, it's no surprise that some users are joking that orcas are behind it.

What's The Deal With Iron Lung Submarine Memes?

Another pop culture reference people are making is that to Iron Lung, a critically acclaimed indie horror game released by David "Duskdev" Szymanski in March 2022. Coincidentally, the game tells a story of a prisoner locked within a claustrophobic, rusty submarine navigating an ocean of blood on an alien moon.

There are parallels between the Titan, with its small interior that forces its five passengers and crew to clump together uncomfortably, and the somehow slightly bigger Iron Lung. Overall, quite a torment nexus moment right here.

For the full history of OceanGate Titanic Submarine Incident, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.