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New York Post
05-08-2025
- General
- New York Post
Titan submersible disaster that killed 5 on way to Titanic ruins was preventable, Coast Guard says
PORTLAND, Maine — The Coast Guard's report on the Titan submersible disaster that killed five on the way to the Titanic said Tuesday the implosion was 'preventable.' The disappearance of the Titan off Canada in 2023 led to a search that grabbed worldwide attention, and the Coast Guard convened its highest level of investigation in the aftermath. The Titan was owned by OceanGate, a private company based in Washington state. The operator of the submersible, OceanGate head Stockton Rush, was among the five on board who died. There were no survivors. Debris from the Titan submersible, recovered from the ocean floor near the wreck of the Titanic, is unloaded from the ship Horizon Arctic at the Canadian Coast Guard pier in St. John's, Newfoundland, Wednesday, June 28, 2023. AP The report found the company's safety procedures were 'critically flawed,' noting that the core of the failures inside the company came down to 'glaring disparities' between their safety protocols and actual practices. The submersible disaster has led to lawsuits and calls for tighter regulation of the developing private deep sea expedition industry. Jason Neubauer, with the Marine Board of Investigation, said that the findings will help prevent future tragedies. 'There is a need for stronger oversight and clear options for operators who are exploring new concepts outside of the existing regulatory framework,' he said in a statement. Spokespeople for OceanGate did not immediately respond to phone calls seeking comment on the report. OceanGate suspended operations in July 2023. Investigators found that the submersible's design, certification, maintenance and inspection process were all inadequate. Throughout the report, which spans more than 300 pages, investigators repeatedly point to OceanGate's culture of downplaying, ignoring and even falsifying key safety information to improve its reputation and evade scrutiny from regulators. OceanGate ignored 'red flags' and had a 'toxic workplace culture,' while its mission was hindered by lack of domestic and international framework for submersible operations, the report says. Numerous OceanGate employees have come forward in the two years since the implosion to support those claims. The report says firings of senior staff members and the looming threat of being fired were used to dissuade employees and contractors from expressing safety concerns. The report alleges that for several years preceding the Titan's explosion, OceanGate 'leveraged intimidation tactics, allowances for scientific operations, and the company's favorable reputation to evade regulatory scrutiny.' 'By strategically creating and exploiting regulatory confusion and oversight challenges, OceanGate was ultimately able to operate TITAN completely outside of the established deep-sea protocols,' the report found. The Marine Board said one challenge of the investigation was that 'significant amounts' of video footage evidence that had been captured by witnesses was not subject to its subpoena authority because the witnesses weren't U.S. citizens. In addition to Rush, the implosion killed French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British adventurer Hamish Harding and two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood.
The Star
28-05-2025
- General
- The Star
Vessel's implosion can be heard on new video from expedition to Titanic wreckage
Debris from the Titan submersible, recovered from the ocean floor near the wreck of the Titanic, is unloaded from the ship Horizon Arctic at the Canadian Coast Guard pier in St. John's, Newfoundland, on June 28, 2023. — The Canadian Press via AP, File CONCORD, New Hampshire: US Coast Guard officials investigating the disappearance of an experimental submersible on its way to the Titanic wreckage in 2023 have released video recorded aboard its support ship from the moment the sound of its implosion reached the ocean's surface. The Titan vanished June 18, 2023, on its way to the wreck of the Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean, setting off a five-day search that ended with authorities saying all five passengers had died when the vessel imploded. On board were Stockton Rush, CEO of the company that built the Titan, along with British explorer Hamish Harding, veteran French diver Paul Henri Nargeolet, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman. The implosion sparked international debate about the future of private deep-sea travel and an ongoing Coast Guard investigation. After holding public hearings in September, the Coast Guard last week released a two-and-a-half minute video showing Rush's wife, Wendy Rush, and an OceanGate employee monitoring the submersible's descent from the Polar Prince support ship. The video shows Wendy Rush and Gary Foss sitting in front of a computer. After a faint sound like a closing door, Rush asks, "What was that bang?' The Coast Guard says it believes it was the sound of the Titan's implosion reaching the surface of the ocean. About two minutes later, Foss says, "We've lost tracking.' Concerns were raised after the implosion because of the Titan's unconventional design and its creator's refusal to submit to independent safety checks. OceanGate suspended operations in July 2023. – AP
CTV News
24-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Video released by U.S. Coast Guard captures moment of Titan submersible implosion
Debris from the Titan submersible, recovered from the ocean floor near the wreck of the Titanic, is unloaded from the ship Horizon Arctic at the Canadian Coast Guard pier in St. John's, Wednesday, June 28, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Daly
