Titan sub safety practices 'critically flawed' and implosion 'preventable', report finds
Five people – including British adventurer Hamish Harding and father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood - died on the maiden voyage of the submarine in June 2023.
The chief executive of tour operator OceanGate Expeditions, Stockton Rush, and Titanic historian and French national Paul-Henri Nargeolet, were also killed in the incident.
On Tuesday, the US Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) released a 335-page report investigating the events leading up to and during the ill-fated expedition to the wreckage of the Titanic.
It highlighted several key safety failings and made 17 recommendations to improve maritime safety and prevent future incidents from occurring.
The report criticised OceanGate's design and testing processes and the concluded the accident occurred in part due to a failure "to properly investigate and address known hull anomalies" following an earlier expedition.
It also said OceanGate had a "toxic workplace environment" and used the "looming threat of being fired" to prevent staff from coming forward with safety concerns.
According to the report, a contractor hired by OceanGate in 2022 voiced "numerous safety concerns" to a company director, before being told: "You have a bad attitude, you don't have an explorer mindset, you know, we're innovative and we're cowboys, and a lot of people can't handle that."
The report read: "For several years preceding the incident, OceanGate leveraged intimidation tactics, allowances for scientific operations, and the company's favourable 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, which had historically contributed to a strong safety record for commercial submersibles."The lack of both third-party oversight and experienced OceanGate employees on staff during their 2023 Titan operations allowed OceanGate's chief executive officer to completely ignore vital inspections, data analyses, and preventative maintenance procedures, culminating in a catastrophic event."
The investigation concluded the "sudden and catastrophic" implosion of the Titan submersible was triggered by a loss of structural integrity in the carbon fiber hull.
All five individuals aboard killed instantly when the hull imploded, exposing them to approximately 4,930 pounds per square inch of water pressure.
The report said had OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush survived the incident he could have faced criminal charges for negligence.
The loss of communications with the submersible mid-dive sparked a multi-national search and rescue operation involving ships and aircraft.
Speaking following the report's release, Jason Neubauer, who chaired the investigation said: "This marine casualty and the loss of five lives was preventable.
'The two-year investigation has identified multiple contributing factors that led to this tragedy, providing valuable lessons learned to prevent a future occurrence.
"There is a need for stronger oversight and clear options for operators who are exploring new concepts outside of the existing regulatory framework."
The surviving family of British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada and his 19-year-old son Suleman, who both died in the implosion, released a statement following the report's release calling for tighter regulation in the industry.
In it they said: "No report can alter the heartbreaking outcome, nor fill the immeasurable void left by two cherished members of our family.
'We believe that accountability and regulatory change must follow such a catastrophic failure."
They go on to hope the investigation's conclusion will lead to "meaningful reform, rigorous safety standards, and effective oversight" in the submersible industry.
"If Shahzada and Suleman's legacy can be a catalyst for regulatory change that helps prevent such a loss from ever happening again, it will bring us some measure of peace," they finish.
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