Latest news with #deepSeaExploration
CBS News
05-08-2025
- CBS News
Titan submersible owner OceanGate used "intimidation tactics" to avoid scrutiny before implosion, U.S. Coast Guard says
The U.S. exploration company OceanGate used "intimidation tactics" to "evade regulatory scrutiny" in the years leading up to the June 2023 Titan submersible tragedy, according to findings released by the U.S. Coast Guard Tuesday. Those conclusions are part of an over 300-page report released by officials into the incident, which killed five people onboard when the sub imploded underwater while on an expedition to see the wreckage of the Titanic. "This marine casualty and the loss of five lives was preventable," Jason Neubauer, who led the Coast Guard's investigation into the incident, said in a statement Tuesday. "For several years preceding the incident, OceanGate leveraged intimidation tactics, allowances for scientific operations, and the company's favorable reputation to evade regulatory scrutiny," the Coast Guard report said. "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 outlines several key causes behind the Titan submersible's demise. That included the fact that the "design and testing processes for TITAN did not adequately address many of the fundamental engineering principles that would be crucial for ensuring safety and reliability in such an inherently hazardous environment," the report said. The report also faulted OceanGate for its continued use of the Titan sub even though the vessel had previously been damaged in "a series of incidents that likely compromised the integrity of the hull and other critical components of the submersible." On the day of the tragedy, the sub's hull "experienced a critical event that compromised the structural integrity of its pressure vessel, resulting in an instantaneous and catastrophic implosion," according to the Coast Guard's investigation. The Coast Guard report also found that OceanGate had a "toxic" safety culture and corporate structure, and that its operational practices were "critically flawed." That included a workplace environment which "used firings of senior staff members and the looming threat of being fired to dissuade employees and contractors from expressing safety concerns." In February 2018, OceanGate's former director of marine operations filed a whistleblower complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, alleging he was dismissed because he voiced safety concerns about the "first TITAN hull's development and testing plans." In response to the complaint, OceanGate filed a lawsuit against the former employee, accusing him of violating a confidentiality agreement he had signed with the company. That whistleblower complaint was not processed in a timely fashion by relevant U.S. federal agencies, according to the Coast Guard's report, and the ex-employee withdrew the complaint, citing the "emotional toll of the ensuing legal battle." "The two-year investigation has identified multiple contributing factors that led to this tragedy, providing valuable lessons learned to prevent a future occurrence," Neubauer said. Among those killed aboard the doomed vessel was Stockton Rush, co-founder of OceanGate, the Washington state company that owned the Titan. The implosion also killed veteran Titanic explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet; two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood; and British adventurer Hamish Harding. The Coast Guard's findings pointed the finger of blame largely at Rush, who investigators said ignored warnings about the hull damage that had been identified during a previous exploration in 2022. "Mr. Rush's overconfidence influenced OceanGate's personnel, contractors, and mission specialists, creating an environment where safety concerns were ignored or underemphasized in favor of operational continuity," the Coast Guard's analysis found. Had Rush survived the tragedy, the Coast Guard said that it would have recommended the U.S. Department of Justice to consider pursuing a criminal investigation into his actions, which the report said "exhibited negligence that contributed to the deaths of four individuals."
CBS News
05-08-2025
- CBS News
OceanGate used "intimidation tactics" to avoid scrutiny before Titan submersible tragedy, U.S. Coast Guard says
The U.S. exploration company OceanGate used " intimidation tactics" to "evade regulatory scrutiny" in the years leading up to the June 2023 Titan submersible tragedy, according to findings released by the U.S. Coast Guard Tuesday. Those conclusions are part of an over 300-page report released by officials into the incident, which killed five people onboard when the sub imploded underwater while on an expedition to see the wreckage of the Titanic. "For several years preceding the incident, OceanGate leveraged intimidation tactics, allowances for scientific operations, and the company's favorable reputation to evade regulatory scrutiny," the Coast Guard report said. "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 outlines several key causes behind the Titan submersible's demise. That included the fact that the "design and testing processes for TITAN did not adequately address many of the fundamental engineering principles that would be crucial for ensuring safety and reliability in such an inherently hazardous environment," the report said. The report also faulted OceanGate for its continued use of the Titan sub even though the vessel had previously been damaged in "a series of incidents that likely compromised the integrity of the hull and other critical components of the submersible." The Coast Guard report says OceanGate had a "toxic" safety culture and corporate structure, and that its operational practices were "critically flawed." "This marine casualty and the loss of five lives was preventable," Jason Neubauer, who led the Coast Guard's investigation into the incident, said in a statement Tuesday. "The two-year investigation has identified multiple contributing factors that led to this tragedy, providing valuable lessons learned to prevent a future occurrence," Neubauer said. Among those killed aboard the doomed vessel was Stockton Rush, co-founder of OceanGate, the Washington state company that owned the Titan. The implosion also killed veteran Titanic explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet; two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood; and British adventurer Hamish Harding.
Daily Mail
14-06-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I know where Amelia Earhart's plane REALLY is... and how to find it
Tony Romeo is on a mission to find the wreck of trailblazing aviator Amelie Earhart's plane in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Last year the deep-sea explorer spent millions of dollars on a search after sonar images showed a plane-shaped object in the murky depths — but it turned out to be just a pile of rocks.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Coral gardens and volcano vents: See what scientists found in the icy depths of the Southern Ocean
Scientists on board a deep-sea expedition to the South Sandwich Islands near Antarctica have returned with a treasure trove of photos of previously unseen marine life. They found coral gardens, hydrothermal vents and many suspected new species while exploring around the island chain, including in the deepest trench in the Southern Ocean. The same international team, aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor (too), made headlines last month with their world-first footage of a colossal squid. And in January, they were in the right place at the right time to explore the seafloor when a Chicago-sized iceberg broke away from an ice shelf in Antarctica. But there were many more 'magic moments' on the 35-day deep-sea expedition to this extremely biodiverse part of the ocean. 'The 35 days at sea were an exciting rollercoaster of scientific discovery; the implications of which will be felt for many years to come as discoveries filter into management action,' says Dr Michelle Taylor, head of science and expedition principal investigator at the Ocean Census - the world's largest initiative to accelerate the discovery of ocean life. These remarkable photos take us along for the ride. Related What are milky seas? 400 years of sailors' stories are shedding light on ocean bioluminescence Located in the South Atlantic, the South Sandwich Islands are part of a rich mosaic of geologic features. These include hadal zone trenches (the deepest region of the ocean), underwater volcanoes, and spreading centres - features created by tectonic forces that have supported the evolution of species found nowhere else on the planet. It took eight days for the research vessel to travel to the islands from the port of Punta Arenas, Chile. On board were Ocean Census scientists, who led efforts to discover new species, and researchers from GoSouth, a collaboration between the UK's University of Plymouth, the British Antarctic Survey and Germany's GEOMAR, tasked with investigating the effects of geohazards, including tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Related Rare snail that can 'slurp up earthworms like noodles' caught on camera laying an egg from its neck The GoSouth team, led by co-chief scientist Dr Jenny Gales, discovered two pockmarks in the mapping data of an underwater caldera - a bowl-shaped depression in the seafloor, left after a volcano erupts. Since pockmarks can indicate hydrothermal activity, the team deployed the vessel's remotely operated vehicle (ROV) SuBastian to map the pockmarks at a higher resolution. The robot confirmed the presence of hydrothermal vents - fissures from which geothermally heated water rises - finding three on the larger pockmark, and one on the smaller one. Located at a depth of 700 metres, they are some of the shallowest hydrothermal vents to have been discovered near the South Sandwich Islands. The tallest vent chimney was four metres - about as tall as a basketball hoop. 'Discovering these hydrothermal vents was a magical moment, as they have never been seen here before,' says Dr Gales, an associate professor in Ocean Exploration at the University of Plymouth. 'It's an incredible discovery that provides valuable insights into the area's tectonic activity. Making such a discovery is rare. It highlights the importance of ocean exploration and seafloor mapping.' Each vent was covered with an array of life dependent on chemosynthesis (producing food using inorganic substances without sunlight), including sea snails and barnacles. Thriving coral gardens and large sponges were also found in close proximity to the vents - an unusual observation, according to Dr Taylor. Related OceanXplorer: On board the billionaire's research vessel broadcasting from the deep sea Meanwhile, Ocean Census scientists uncovered a range of potentially new marine life - including corals, sponges, snails, sea urchins, sea stars and benthic (sea bottom) ctenophores, which have gelatinous bodies. A thriving coral garden located west of Saunders Island at a depth of 120 metres is pictured in one of the most breathtaking photos from the expedition. The exact number of new species will be announced later this year when experts have had time to formally assess and catalogue the findings. But they include a possible new sea cucumber species - marine invertebrates so-named for their soft cylindrical bodies. These creatures play a crucial role in benthic ecosystems by recycling nutrients, and are well-adapted to the cold Antarctic environment. During a dive in the South Sandwich Trench - one of the coldest and most isolated submarine trenches on the planet - the team also spotted snailfish eggs laid on a black coral, a previously unknown behaviour. They also captured the first footage of Akarotaxis aff. gouldae, a species of dragonfish that was discovered only two years ago. And found large pumice blocks, indicating that the South Sandwich Islands are capable of explosive volcanism. Mother Nature threw everything she had at the expedition, says Dr Taylor, including a subsea earthquake, tropical storm force winds with hurricane-level gusts, eight-metre waves, and icebergs to navigate. 'The challenging ocean and weather conditions and the isolated location of the South Sandwich Islands capture the imagination of the boldest explorers - often the closest humans to the vessel were on the International Space Station,' says Schmidt Ocean Institute's executive director, Dr Jyotika Virmani.
