US Coast Guard says Titan submersible's design a primary factor in implosion
The Titan was on a tourist expedition to the wreckage of the Titanic — a British passenger liner that sank in 1912, killing at least 1,500 people on board — when it lost contact with its support vessel during descent. Its remains were found four days later, littering the seabed about 488m from the bow of the Titanic wreck.
The implosion was preventable, the chair of the US Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation Jason Neubauer said as a 300-page report was released after a two-year probe.
'There is a need for stronger oversight and clear options for operators exploring new concepts outside the existing regulatory framework,' he said.
A media spokesperson at OceanGate, the US-based company that managed the tourist submersible and suspended operations after the incident, was not immediately available for comment.
The board determined the primary contributing factors were OceanGate's 'inadequate design, certification, maintenance and inspection process for the Titan'.
It also cited 'a toxic workplace culture at OceanGate', an inadequate regulatory framework for submersibles and other novel vessels, and an ineffective whistle-blower process.
The report added 'for several years before the incident OceanGate leveraged intimidation tactics, allowances for scientific operations and the company's favourable reputation to evade regulatory scrutiny'.
The board found OceanGate failed to investigate and address known hull anomalies after its 2022 Titanic expedition. It said data from Titan's real-time monitoring system should have been analysed and acted on during that expedition.
It also criticised OceanGate for failing to properly store the Titan before the 2023 Titanic expedition.
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