On Tuesday, August 5th, the United States Coast Guard Investigative Committee released a report that identified “design flaws” as the main cause of the 2023 Titan submersible explosion incident, which resulted in the deaths of five individuals.
The Titan submersible was conducting a tourist exploration mission to the wreckage of the Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean. The Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg, resulting in the deaths of at least 1500 people.
On July 6, 2023, the Titan submersible lost contact with the support ship during its descent. Four days later, the wreckage of the submersible was discovered on the seabed approximately 1600 feet (488 meters) from the bow of the Titanic.
The United States subsequently confirmed that the Titan had experienced a “catastrophic internal explosion,” and all five people on board, including OceanGate’s CEO Stockton Rush, perished.
Weighing 23,000 pounds, about the size of a small truck, the Titan submersible incident raised questions about the regulatory oversight of such exploration activities.
Jason Neubauer, Chairman of the US Coast Guard Maritime Investigation Committee, stated on Tuesday that after a two-year investigation, they released a 300-page report concluding that the explosion could have been avoided.
In a statement, Neubauer said, “For operators exploring new concepts beyond existing regulatory frameworks, stronger oversight and clear options are needed.”
OceanGate, headquartered in the United States, has suspended all operations following the incident. A company spokesperson declined to comment immediately.
The committee determined that the primary reasons for the incident were deficiencies in OceanGate’s design, certification, maintenance, and inspection processes for the Titan submersible.
Furthermore, the committee highlighted issues such as a poor work culture within the company, inadequate regulatory frameworks for submersibles and other new vessels, and ineffective reporting procedures.
The report also added, “In the years leading up to the incident, OceanGate used intimidation tactics, scientific operation subsidies, and corporate reputation to evade regulatory scrutiny.”
The committee found that OceanGate failed to investigate and resolve known structural abnormalities in the Titan submersible after the 2022 expedition. They stated that the company should have analyzed and acted upon real-time monitoring system data for the Titan during that expedition.
The statement criticized the company for not properly caring for the Titan submersible before the 2023 expedition.
The five passengers aboard the submersible included 58-year-old British billionaire and adventurer Hamish Harding, 48-year-old Pakistani business tycoon Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman, all British citizens.
Additionally, 77-year-old French marine biologist and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and OceanGate’s founder and CEO Stockton Rush were also on board. Rush’s wife is a descendant of two prominent victims of the Titanic disaster.