In losing Titan, St John's mulls a familiar tragedy

In the park by the harbour in St John's, visitors sit quietly on benches, watching as the boats that went out to search for the Titan submersible make a slow procession home.

It's not the joyous scene most hoped for, but a reality many feared in the city from where the crew set out.

Just two weeks ago, Larry Daley, a local Titanic explorer, shared a beer with Paul-Henry Nargeolet, a French Titanic expert who had completed more than 30 successful dives to the wreckage, and who was on board the Titan.

Mr Daley, who took a similar trip in 2003 with film director James Cameron, is now mourning the loss of a friend and mentor.

"We were just talking about the old times," Mr Daley said with a sad smile, recalling that final encounter. "He lost his life in a place he so loved, exploring the Titanic. It's kind of symbolic, in a way."

Mr Nargeolet was one of five people to die on the submersible. The other four were Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Stockton Rush.

St John's in the province of Newfoundland is the oldest seaport in North America; nearly everyone the BBC spoke to in this fishing community said they have lost friends or family to the sea. At the bottom of a memorial anchor on the harbour side, people had placed roses dedicated to each of the five men killed.

The past 24 hours here have been a rollercoaster of emotion. Thursday began bright, warm and full of the hope that the crew of the Titan would soon be rescued. But by afternoon, the temperature and the mood had turned cold and grey.

As the news of the Titan's "catastrophic implosion" spread through St John's, fog rolled in from the sea, enveloping the city.

"The fog is very fitting, in a way," Kendall McPherson, a tourist passing through the town, told us.

"The Titanic has yet again claimed lives," local artist Patricia Hutton said from a café overlooking the water.

It was from the top of nearby Signal Hill that operators received the RMS Titanic's distress call in 1912. It seems fitting, residents say, that Coast Guards from here should have tried to rescue the Titan's crew.

"There's no Newfoundlander who would leave you behind," said Captain John Rogers.

A fifth-generation seaman, Capt Rogers said he's seen many things from the deck of his ship, but nothing like this week's rescue efforts.

As someone who has participated in rescue missions himself, Capt Rogers said the shift from hope to hopelessness felt regrettably familiar.

"There's a certain degree of grieving that we feel because we have a tremendous heritage here of making a living off water," he said. "The Atlantic is not to be taken lightly."

Though iceberg tours and whale watching expeditions are common here, many locals say they only just learned of OceanGate, the company that operated the Titan, and that tourists could take dives to visit the wreckage.

Newfoundland native John Michael Lennon said his heart fell when news of the Titan's fate began making its way through the town. As a father, his thoughts have lingered on the death of 19-year-old Suleman.

"We're going to plant a tree or some trees on behalf of Suleman and his generation," he said, tearing up. "I come from this place, my people come from this place, and the sea has always given and it's taken."

The tragedy has left him with questions, he said. Should the Titan have even attempted the trip? Should taxpayers bear the cost of this kind of recovery mission? And what draws people to the sea?

That final question, he acknowledged, feels more existential.

"Joy and sorrow were always communal rights in small maritime communities," he said.

As the town awaits the return of the Polar Prince, the vessel that ferried the Titan, and with it the local Coast Guard crews who tried desperately to save those aboard the submersible, thoughts turn to the families in mourning.

Mr Daley said it will take time for him to process the death of his friend.

In quieter moments, he said he'll also have to try and reconcile this tragedy with his passion for exploration. But he's certain of one thing: "We're going to keep exploring - that's what human nature is."