PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a report on Wednesday concluding that faulty engineering was the primary cause of the implosion of the Titan submersible, resulting in the immediate deaths of five individuals during a descent to the wreck of the Titanic. The catastrophic implosion occurred in June 2023 in the North Atlantic, leading to an international search effort that made headlines worldwide.
According to the NTSB's final report, the Titan's construction featured a carbon fiber composite pressure vessel that had multiple engineering flaws, failing to meet essential strength and durability standards. The report criticizes OceanGate, the owner of the Titan, for inadequate testing and a lack of awareness regarding the vessel's true structural integrity.
Furthermore, the NTSB indicated that had OceanGate adhered to standard emergency response procedures, the wreckage of the Titan could have been located more quickly. Although a rescue was ultimately deemed impossible, following established protocols would have saved time and resources during the emergency response.
This report aligns with findings from a Coast Guard investigation released in August, which deemed the Titan's implosion preventable. The Coast Guard identified significant flaws in OceanGate’s safety protocols and highlighted "glaring disparities" between what was documented as safety measures and what was practiced in reality.
Following the disaster, OceanGate suspended its operations in July 2023 and gradually wound down its activities. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment on the NTSB report, while another spokesperson previously expressed condolences to the families of the deceased in August, after the Coast Guard's findings were made public.
The implosion not only claimed the life of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush but also resulted in several lawsuits and heightened calls for stricter regulations governing private deep-sea expeditions. Among those who perished were recognized figures such as French underwater explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British adventurer Hamish Harding, and members of a well-known Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood.
The NTSB's report makes several recommendations, including urging the Coast Guard to assemble a panel of experts to evaluate submersibles and other human-occupied pressure vessels. It advocates for the implementation of regulations informed by their study, noting that the existing regulations governing small passenger vessels allowed OceanGate to operate the Titan in an unsafe manner.
Additionally, the report calls for the Coast Guard to disseminate the findings of the expert study across the industry, which has been expanding alongside the increasing prevalence of privately funded explorations in deep-sea environments.
Notably, OceanGate had prior awareness of the potential for Coast Guard regulation. The report outlines comments from a former operations technician who left the company after expressing concerns about referring to paying passengers as "mission specialists." The technician reported that CEO Stockton Rush suggested if the Coast Guard posed a problem, he would "buy himself a congressman" to remedy the situation.
The Titan had been conducting voyages to the Titanic site since 2021, with its final dive taking place on June 18, 2023. After losing contact with its support vessel approximately two hours into the dive, the submersible was reported overdue that afternoon. The search operations commenced, involving ships, planes, and other equipment, covering a search area about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John's, Newfoundland.
The multiday search, which initially aimed to locate possible survivors, quickly transitioned to a recovery effort once it became apparent there would be no survivors. This tragic incident prompted extensive investigations from the Coast Guard and other authorities to understand the factors that led to the implosion and to avoid similar tragedies in the future.
