Latest news with #USCoastGuardMarineBoardofInvestigation
Hans India
4 days ago
- General
- Hans India
US Coast Guard issues findings on Titan submersible disaster
One of those regulatory changes should be a mandate for all submersibles to be equipped with better communications systems. 'It is critical that workplace culture have the ability to quickly report an emergency and work through any potential contingencies with the surface community via voice communications,' the US Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation report on the Titan submersible says. The board also recommended that the Coast Guard report work on a new regulation that would require all submersibles in the US to be designed and built to common standards and that maintenance on them should also be regulated in the same way. The report said the accident was an 'preventable disaster,' and cleared the captain of OceanGate's Titan submersible, Stockton Aguirre, of any blame. In its findings, the investigative board placed primary responsibility for the accident on OceanGate and the shipowner Duckworth. Testing dive the submersible, which led to its implosion, was cited as a critical factor in the investigation's conclusion. 'The safety failures and effective regulatory oversight and operation of manned submersibles and vessels of novel design that are constructed and/or operated in the United States and its navigable waterways contributed to the incident,' the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation report says. The company suspended operations following the incident and focused on supporting the Coast Guard's investigation until it was complete, at which point the company went out of business. The crew members on the ocean's surface that were in communications with Titan before it imploded heard a 'bang' from the submersible shortly after it collapsed at 10,700 meters, or just under 35,000 feet, the US Coast Guard's Marine Board of Investigation report says.
TimesLIVE
4 days ago
- General
- TimesLIVE
US Coast Guard says Titan submersible's design a primary factor in implosion
A US Coast Guard investigative board concluded on Tuesday that the 'inadequate design' of the Titan submersible was a primary contributing factor in its implosion in 2023 that left five people dead. 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.
CNN
4 days ago
- CNN
US Coast Guard releases investigative findings in the implosion of Titan submersible
The US Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation tasked with examining the June 2023 implosion of the Titan submersible released its report on Tuesday, with the board chair stating that the deaths of the five people on board were 'preventable.' The report lays responsibility for the tragedy largely at the feet of OceanGate, the Washington-based company that operated Titan. The MBI found the 'primary contributing factors' to the implosion were OceanGate's 'inadequate design, certification, maintenance and inspection process for the Titan,' a Coast Guard release said, also pointing to the company's 'toxic workplace culture.' Follow live updates: US Coast Guard releases report on Titan submersible implosion The ill-fated expedition seized the world's attention just over two years ago, when the vessel vanished during a dive to the wreck of the Titanic. A massive search operation unfolded in the North Atlantic, but the submersible's mangled wreckage was found on the ocean floor. Stockton Rush, the founder and CEO of the vessel's operator, OceanGate; businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman Dawood; businessman Hamish Harding; and French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet were all killed. Those remains were matched to the five men on board through DNA testing and analysis, the Marine Board of Investigation previously said. 'The two-year investigation has identified multiple contributing factors that led to this tragedy, providing valuable lessons learned to prevent a future occurrence,' Jason Neubauer, the MBI chair, said in the statement. 'There is a need for stronger oversight and clear options for operators who are exploring new concepts outside of the existing regulatory framework.' CNN is working to review the report. This story has been updated with additional information.
