Implosion of the submersible Titan: US Coast Guard hearings begin

CNN
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On Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard will begin a multi-day hearing on the sinking of the Titan – the ill-fated submersible imploded in the North Atlantic in June 2023, according to authorities, killing all five people on board during a dive to the wreck of the Titanic.

The public hearing will be conducted by the Marine Board of Investigation, which was convened days after the submersible disappeared. The MBI – the Coast Guard's highest investigative body – has been tasked with investigating the cause of the tragedy and making recommendations, including possible civil penalties and criminal prosecution.

“Over the past 15 months, our team has worked continuously and closely with multiple federal agencies, international partners and industry experts to uncover the facts surrounding this incident,” Jason Neubauer, chairman of the Marine Board of Investigation, said at a press conference on Sunday.

“The upcoming hearings will allow us to present our findings and hear directly from key witnesses and experts in a transparent forum,” Neubauer said, adding that the hearings “represent a critical step in our mission to understand the factors that led to this incident and, more importantly, to take action to prevent similar occurrences.”

About an hour and 45 minutes after beginning its dive to Titanic on June 18, 2023, the submersible lost contact with its mother ship. When it did not resurface, an international search and rescue mission was launched in the remote waters several hundred miles southeast of Newfoundland, Canada.

Ultimately, authorities concluded that the ship had suffered a “catastrophic implosion” – a sudden inward collapse caused by enormous pressure. Debris from the submersible was found on the seabed several hundred yards from the Titanic, and authorities recovered “suspected human remains” believed to belong to the victims.

Also killed were Stockton Rush, founder and CEO of the ship's operating company, businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood, businessman Hamish Harding and French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

The Coast Guard had previously stated that the hearing would cover “the historical events leading up to the accident, regulatory compliance, crew member duties and qualifications, mechanical and structural systems, emergency response, and the submersible industry.”

Also on the witness list are former employees of OceanGate Expeditions, the Everett, Washington-based company that operated the 23,000-pound vessel and charged about $250,000 per ticket. The company was questioned about its activities following reports of safety concerns.

The MBI is made up of numerous Coast Guard officials and at least two National Transportation Safety Board officials, according to a Coast Guard roster. Other expected witnesses include regulatory officials, search and rescue specialists, deep-sea research experts and engineers from NASA and Boeing.

While the primary objective of the hearing is to “uncover the facts surrounding the incident,” Neubauer acknowledged that the panel is also responsible for uncovering “misconduct or negligence by seafarers with valid seaman's licenses.”

“And if we suspect that a crime has been committed, we make a recommendation to the Ministry of Justice,” he said.

The Marine Board of Investigation is the Coast Guard's highest investigative body. An MBI hearing is convened approximately every year, Neubauer said, adding: “Out of thousands of investigations conducted, fewer than one gets to this level.”

The hearing will be held in North Charleston, South Carolina, and is scheduled to last nine days, Monday through Friday, September 27. It will be streamed live on the Coast Guard's YouTube page.

When the investigation is complete, the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board will each conduct an independent analysis and issue reports, Neubauer said Sunday. He cautioned that more hearings could be held in the future and declined to give an estimated timeline for the investigation's completion.