Christine Dawood Reveals She Gave Her Spot to 19-Year-Old Suleman, Who Had Big Dreams for the Journey

Christine Dawood, the mother of 19-year-old Suleman Dawood, who tragically perished aboard the Titan submersible, revealed that she gave up her spot on the ill-fated voyage to her son because he was “so excited” about the trip. Suleman and his father, Shahzada, were among the five people who lost their lives when the vessel imploded during its descent to view the Titanic wreckage.

In an emotional interview with the BBC, Christine shared that the trip was initially planned before the pandemic, and Suleman had been disappointed that he wasn’t old enough to join. “It was supposed to be Shahzada and I going down. I stepped back and gave the place to Suleman because he really wanted to go,” she explained.

When asked how she felt about that decision, she chose not to elaborate, responding simply, “Let’s just skip that.”

Suleman, an avid Rubik’s Cube enthusiast, had planned to break a world record during the dive, taking the puzzle with him to solve 3,700 meters beneath the ocean’s surface. His mother described how her son could solve the cube in just 12 seconds and carried it everywhere with him, hoping to make history on his deep-sea adventure.

The family boarded the Polar Prince support vessel on June 18—Father’s Day—anticipating a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Christine and her 17-year-old daughter Alina remained aboard the support ship when communications with the Titan were lost.

“At first, we thought they were just going to come up,” Christine recalled. “But when the time passed and they didn’t resurface, the shock started to sink in.” She said the family held on to hope as long as possible, discussing different emergency procedures they thought might help bring the sub back to the surface. However, the tragic outcome was confirmed after hours of waiting.