The U.S. Coast Guard has launched two weeks of public hearings to investigate the loss of OceanGate’s Titan submersible and its crew during a dive to the Titanic shipwreck. The chair of the Marine Board of Investigation conducted the public hearings and emphasized that there is still more investigation to be done beyond the hearings. The hearings will delve into the causes of Titan’s implosion, which resulted in the death of the five crew members, including OceanGate’s CEO Stockton Rush and other crew members. The public hearings are scheduled to run until September 27 in North Charleston, S.C., and will be livestreamed via YouTube.
Following Titan’s disappearance in June 2023, OceanGate suspended all exploration and commercial operations, leading to a halt in activities and the company’s website going dark. These hearings will provide a rare opportunity for those associated with OceanGate to speak publicly about the company’s operations. Testimony during the hearings include former OceanGate director of engineering Tony Nissen, co-founder Guillermo Söhnlein, whistleblower David Lochridge, and former mission specialists who participated in earlier Titanic dives. Additionally, representatives from the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Laboratory, Boeing, and NASA will also testify.
Prior to the hearings, evidence suggested that Titan experienced a catastrophic implosion during its final dive, likely due to a rupture in the carbon-composite hull or the seals between the hull and titanium end caps. Multiple experts on submersibles had privately warned OceanGate about the sub’s vulnerabilities, but those concerns were not heeded. Following the hearings, the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board will conduct independent analyses and issue reports with recommendations aimed at addressing safety lapses that led to Titan’s loss.
The reports resulting from the investigations will likely recommend new regulations to prevent similar incidents in the future, with the potential to influence both domestic regulations overseen by the Coast Guard and global regulations managed by the International Maritime Organization. These findings could also have implications for legal proceedings, including civil lawsuits targeting OceanGate and other involved parties. At least one wrongful-death suit has already been filed on behalf of a crew member’s family, indicating the legal ramifications of the incident. The focus of the hearings is to uncover the facts surrounding the incident, detect any misconduct or negligence by mariners, and prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
The Coast Guard’s witness list includes former OceanGate employees, contractors, and whistleblowers who have insights into the operations and concerns regarding the safety of Titan. The officials leading the investigation emphasized that the main goal is to find the facts surrounding the incident and make recommendations to ensure the safety of future missions. The hearings aim to provide transparency and accountability regarding the events leading up to the loss of the Titan submersible and its crew and to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future.
