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Where is OceanGate now? What we know as Titan Submersible disaster that killed 5 deemed preventable

The Titan submersible tragedy took place in 2023
  • Logo of OceanGate in front of an underwater photo background in Turkiye (Image via Getty)
    Logo of OceanGate in front of an underwater photo background in Turkiye (Image via Getty)

    US Coast Guard investigators have just released a 335-page report that has determined that OceanGate, the company that owned and operated the Titan submersible, had “flawed” safety protocols which led to the death of five people on a deep ocean expedition to the wreckage of the Titanic, two years ago.

    While OceanGate’s Titan submersible crashed in an underwater implosion at the time, the company itself ceased its deep ocean expeditions and “suspended all exploration and commercial operations,” according to its website, notes Today. OceanGate is still a registered business, and although it is inactive, it hasn’t filed for bankruptcy nor has it been dissolved, according to Today.

    As per CNN, the company’s spokesperson released a statement in the wake of the release of the Coast Guard’s report, and said,

    “We again offer our deepest condolences to the families of those who died on June 18, 2023, and to all those impacted by the tragedy. After the tragedy occurred, the company permanently wound down operations and directed its resources fully towards cooperating with the Coast Guard’s inquiry through its completion.”

    US Rear Adm. John Mauger speaking about the discovery of debris of Titan submersible (Image via Getty)
     

    US Coast Guard’s investigations determined the cause of the 2023 submersible implosion

    The US Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation determined in its report that the 2023 Titan submersible disaster, which claimed the lives of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, British billionaire Hamish Harding, and diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, could have been ‘prevented.’

    The chair of the Marine Board of Investigation, Jason Neubauer, said in a press release,

    “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. I am optimistic the ROI’s findings and recommendations will help improve awareness of the risks and the importance of proper oversight while still providing a pathway for innovation.”

    Titan, which imploded 90 minutes after its dive into the Atlantic Ocean to explore the wreckage of Titanic, suffered the loss of its carbon-fibre hull’s structural integrity, noted the report, according to BBC. The report mentions that the five people onboard the submersible died when they were subjected to 5,000 pounds per square inch of water pressure, as per the news outlet.

    US Coast Guard searching for the Titan submersible (Image via Getty)

    According to the report, OceanGate’s culture of work was toxic, and concerns for safety were overlooked, noted ABC News. The report, as per the news outlet, read:

    “A false sense of safety and security was created by Mr. Rush through his misrepresentation of the TITAN's safety, achieved by falsely claiming substantial safety margins, misleading mission specialists regarding testing procedures, and exaggerating the number of hull test dives for the final TITAN hull.”

    The Titan submersible undertook 13 dives to the wreck of the Titanic in the two years before the ill-fated 2023 expedition. Rob McCallum, a EYOS expeditions specialist who briefly consulted for OceanGate, told BBC that the test dives could have weakened the submersible’s carbon-fibre hull. He said,

    “You can't expect to take a vehicle to the same depth every time knowing that it's weaker than the dive before, and expect it not to fail at some stage, It is a mathematical certainty that it will fail. The tragedy is, you don't know when it's going to fail.”

    As per CNN, the Marine Board of Investigation now recommends that the Coast Guard put in place new and stringent regulations, according to which uniform standards should govern how submersibles are built and maintained.

    TOPICS: OceanGate, Titanic, Titan submersible