The family of Paul-Henri Nargeolet has paid tribute to their loved one, as they remember "one of the greatest deep-sea explorers".
It was tragically announced last night that the five men on board the missing Titan sub are believed to have died after a debris field was found by a remotely operated vehicle within the search area.
Amongst the five men was Nargeolet who was tasked with piloting the sub, and he came with a wealth of knowledge of deep-sea diving following a career in the French navy.
As per the Times, the 77-year-old deep-sea diver led the first expedition to the Titanic in 1987 and has since been dubbed "Mr. Titanic" due to his extensive knowledge of the infamous vessel.
Throughout his life, Nargeolet visited the wreckage of the Titanic on more than 35 occasions, and his loss is being felt across the nautical world.
"He is the world specialist on the Titanic, its conception, the shipwreck, he has dived in four corners of the world - he is a super-hero for us in France," Mathieu Johann, his editor at Harper Collins told Reuters.
Following the devastating announcement by the US Coast Guard and OceanGate that they believe the five on board have "sadly been lost", Nargeolet's family has paid tribute to him.
The explorer's stepson, John Paschall, told CBS that he will be remembered as an inspiration and that he was a deeply kind man.
"We focus so much on everything he did in the water, but I feel like some of his greatest accomplishments, too, were out of the water," Paschall said.
He went on: "I understand that in life it is sometimes not easy to be a stepfather when you are coming into a situation where my father was still in the picture and I had a great relationship with him, but he was always so respectful of my relationship with him and he was such an important part of my life.
"We first met in my freshman year of high school. I remember the first thing he did for me that was so meaningful was he helped me with a science project on the building of a cell and creating a model of it, and I ended up getting an 'A' on it."
Paschall continued: "Science is now my favorite subject, and it was one of those things where he never forced any help. I went and asked and he just did it."
As per the Daily Mail, a statement from the Nargeolet family read: "Our hearts are broken over the loss of our extraordinary father and husband.
"He is a man who will be remembered as one of the greatest deep-sea explorers in modern history. When you think of the Titanic and all we know about the ship today, you will think of Paul-Henri Nargeolet and his legendary work.
"But what we will remember him most for is his big heart, his incredible sense of humor, and how much he loved his family. We will miss him today and every day for the rest of our lives."
The family concluded by thanking the rescue team for their efforts over the last few days.
