Christine Dawood lost her husband and 19-year-old son in the tragic OceanGate Titan submarine disaster but has opened up nearly three years after the deadly incident
A widow whose husband and son died in the tragic OceanGate Titan disaster shared her relief when she learned what happened to the pair.
Multimillionaire Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Suleman, 19, were among five people who sadly died when the submersible imploded while it was on its way to see wreckage from the Titanic. The businessman’s widow, Christine Dawood, has spoken in detail about the day and the impact the tragedy has had on her for the first time, nearly three years after the incident.
The mum said that years on she is still impacted by the disaster, including dealing with terrifying panic attacks, but revealed one piece of information that gave her some comfort.
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The five people on board the sub were killed instantaneously after intense deep-sea pressures and a series of critical issues led to a catastrophic implosion, on June 18, 2023. Christine, who lives with her 20-year-old daughter in their family home in Surrey, said the fact the submersible has collapsed inward in a fraction of a second, and killed the men instantaneously, made her feel better as she knew her husband and son did not suffer slow deaths.
The widow, speaking to The Guardian, said: “My first thought was, thank God. When they said catastrophic, I knew Shahzada and Suleman didn’t even know about it. One moment they were there and the next they weren’t. Knowing they didn’t suffer has been so important. They’re gone, but the way they went does somehow make it easier.”
After the deadly implosion, it was revealed Christine had originally planned to go on the sub with her husband but later gave her seat to her son, due to his fascination with the Titanic.
The mother revealed some advice she was given, by a Canadian Coast Guard after the four-day search, which she still uses to help with the grief.
Christine recalled: “A very experienced woman with blond hair – I forget her name – gave me the best advice I’ve ever gotten: ‘Hindsight won’t help you, so don’t fall into that trap. Just because you know it now … you didn’t know it before.’
“I’ve always remembered her telling me that. Suleman wanted to go and I was happy to give up the seat. I was happy for him to make memories with his father. I can’t change that.”
The three other people who died on board the sub were British billionaire Hamish Harding, 58, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, 61 and French diver and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77.
A report into the tragedy was released in August 2025 which said multiple contributing factors led to the “preventable” implosion off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
Coast Guard investigators, in a 327-page report, said: “This marine casualty and the loss of five lives was preventable.” The investigation found several crucial problems which led to the tragic disaster.
These included OceanGate prioritising profits over safety, putting pressure on employees to avoid them expressing concerns and failures with the Titan’s design. The Coast Guard said: “In summary, OceanGate repeatedly prioritized operational goals and financial considerations over safety, ignoring warnings from both industry experts and internal staff.”
