- RMS Titanic Inc. created a map of where debris from the Titan sub landed in relation to the Titanic.
- The sonar map details how close the OceanGate submersible was to the Titanic shipwreck.
One of the passengers who died on the Titan submersible last month helped create a map of the Titanic shipwreck that has been 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 its sunken relics released a map in court documents filed Saturday that 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 shipwreck with five passengers on board.
The New York Times reported Monday that the sonar-map images were created by the company RMS Titanic Inc. and were 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 how close debris from the exploratory vehicle was to the shipwreck it sought to observe, the Times reported.
The map placed the "Titan Debris Field" to the right of the Titanic's looming bow. The US Coast Guard previously said the Titan's debris was found about 1,600 feet from the ship's bow.
Jessica Sanders, the president of RMS Titanic Inc., told the Times that the map was partially developed by Paul-Henri Nargeolet, the 77-year-old 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.
"Part of it was his," Sanders 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 more than 5,000 artifacts. The company, which exhibits the artifacts Nargeolet has collected over the years in the "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" in Orlando, has been regarded by some as high-tech grave robbers, Insider's Katherine Long reported.
RMS Titanic Inc. paid tribute to Nargeolet and his "unparalleled knowledge of the Titanic wreck" in court documents.
"P.H.'s love and passion for Titanic drew him to Titan, and OceanGate welcomed him as a true expert," the court document read. "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 US Coast Guard's Marine Board of Investigation is looking into the events that led to the implosion of the Titan submersible and is expected to hold a public hearing in 12 to 18 months, per the court documents. 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.