Published on
OceanGate’s “critically flawed” safety practices contributed to a “preventable” implosion killing five people aboard its Titan submersible, according to a US Coast Guard report released Tuesday.
The submersible imploded 90 minutes into a dive to the Titanic wreckage on 18 June 2023, killing CEO Stockton Rush and four passengers including a British-Pakistani father and son.
The report identified eight primary factors contributing to the fatal implosion, including inadequate design and testing processes, insufficient data analysis and the use of carbon fibre construction, which rendered the craft incapable of withstanding deep-sea pressure.
The report also found a “toxic workplace environment” at OceanGate where dismissal was routinely used as a means to prevent staff from speaking out about safety concerns.
In addition to the eight primary factors for the tragedy, the report listed a further four that could have contributed.
The coastguard calls OceanGate’s operational practices “critically flawed” and highlights “glaring disparities between their written safety protocols and their actual practices.”
The report also says that OceanGate lacked comprehensive regulations for the oversight of its submersibles.
Arguably the most damning finding in the report is OceanGate using “intimidation tactics” to avoid 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 says.
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.
The family of two of the passengers who were killed on the Titan sub have called for tougher regulation following the publication of the coastguard’s report.
British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son Suleman were two of the three customers killed when Titan imploded.
“No report can alter the heartbreaking outcome, nor fill the immeasurable void left by two cherished members of our family,” a statement from the family said.
“We believe that accountability and regulatory change must follow such a catastrophic failure…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.”
Who else was on board?
In addition to the Dawoods and OceanGate’s CEO Rush, British adventurer Hamish Harding who ran the Dubai-based private jet dealership Action Aviation was among those killed.
Rounding out the five-person crew was former French submariner and Titanic expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet.
OceanGate began taking passengers to the wreck of the Titanic in 2021, charging $250,000 (€216,000) per person for the trip.
Following the Titan implosion on 18 June 2023, the company’s office was closed on 21 June and by 6 July the company had ceased all operations.
