Full catalogue of failures in Titan sub disaster laid bare in new report… & ‘negligent' CEO Stockton Rush WAS to blame
The bombshell file also points squarely at OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush as the man to blame for the 2023 disaster.
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The 335-page investigation, released Tuesday by the US Coast Guard, concludes the tragedy was "preventable" and driven by "critically flawed" practices, design shortcuts, and an appalling safety culture inside the deep-sea tourism company.
Rush, who died in the implosion along with four passengers near the wreck of the Titanic, was found to have "exhibited negligence that contributed to the deaths of four individuals", according to the report.
In a stinging assessment, investigators said had Rush survived, they would have recommended the Department of Justice consider a criminal probe.
The report stated: "For several years preceding the incident, OceanGate leveraged intimidation tactics, allowances for scientific operations, and the company's favourable reputation to evade regulatory scrutiny.
"By strategically creating and exploiting regulatory confusion… OceanGate was ultimately able to operate Titan completely outside of the established deep-sea protocols."
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