A recent report by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has attributed the tragic implosion of an experimental submersible that led to the deaths of five individuals en route to the Titanic wreckage to faulty engineering. The report, released on Wednesday, highlighted issues with the construction of the Titan submersible’s carbon fiber composite pressure vessel, which failed to meet essential strength and durability standards due to various anomalies.
The NTSB also criticized OceanGate, the owner of the ill-fated Titan, for inadequate testing of the vessel and a lack of awareness regarding its true durability. Additionally, the report mentioned that following standard emergency response protocols could have expedited the location of the Titan wreckage, even though a rescue mission was not feasible.
The findings of the NTSB report align with a previous report by the U.S. Coast Guard in August, which described the implosion of the Titan as preventable. The Coast Guard identified significant safety protocol discrepancies at OceanGate and deemed the company’s safety procedures as “critically flawed.”
Following the incident, OceanGate ceased operations in July 2023. The company has not commented on the reports, but a spokesperson expressed condolences to the families of the victims after the Coast Guard report was made public in August.
Among the casualties of the Titan implosion were OceanGate’s CEO Stockton Rush, renowned French underwater explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British adventurer Hamish Harding, and two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood.
The NTSB report has recommended that the Coast Guard establish a panel of experts to review submersibles and other pressure vehicles intended for human occupancy. It also suggests that the Coast Guard implement regulations based on the panel’s findings and share these with the industry.
The Titan had been conducting voyages to the Titanic site since 2021, with its final dive occurring on June 18, 2023. After losing contact with its support vessel, a search operation was launched, but unfortunately, no survivors were found. The subsequent investigations into the incident attracted international attention, prompting calls for tighter regulations in the private deep-sea exploration sector.