Christine Dawood has spoken for the first time in detail about the harrowing four days she spent waiting for news of the Titan submersible, which imploded while attempting to dive to the Titanic wreck in June 2023. Her husband Shahzada, 48, and son Suleman, 19, were among the five men who died. In an interview at her Surrey home, Dawood described the media frenzy that followed the disappearance and the advice she received from a Canadian Coast Guard officer: 'Hindsight won't help you, so don't fall into that trap.'
Dawood, a trained psychologist, had originally booked a place on the submersible but gave her ticket to her son. 'Suleman wanted to go and I was happy to give up the seat,' she said. 'I was happy for him to make memories with his father. I can't change that.' The family had discovered the OceanGate expedition through their travel agency during the 2020 lockdown, after Dawood saw an Instagram advert for 'a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dive to the Titanic'.
The 19-year-old had been fascinated with the Titanic since visiting a huge exhibition while living in Singapore. He spent almost two weeks building a 1.5-metre Lego model of the ship, which now sits in a glass cabinet in the family kitchen. 'People are always a bit shocked to see it,' Dawood admitted, 'but what was I going to do? Break it up? Hide it away? Suleman put all those hours in.'
Dawood said the tragedy attracted global attention partly because of her son's age. 'If it had been five grown men, it might not have been as juicy,' she remarked. She is protective of her 20-year-old daughter, who still lives at home. 'I don't want her to be known as that girl who lost her father and brother on the Titan,' Dawood explained. 'She's just starting her life and I prefer to leave her out.'
The widow has written a book about her experience and said she chooses to survive grief every day. 'I choose me every day to survive grief,' she stated, reflecting on the advice from the Coast Guard officer who told her not to dwell on hindsight. 'Just because you know it now … you didn't know it before.'
