Coast Guard to Hear Testimony from Former OceanGate Employees About Titan Implosion

U.S. Coast Guard officials investigating the implosion of an experimental marine craft en route to the wreck of the Titanic were to hear testimony Monday from former employees of the company that owns the Titan submersible.

The goal of the two-week hearing in Charleston County, South Carolina, is to “uncover the facts surrounding the incident and develop recommendations to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future,” the Coast Guard said in a statement earlier this month. The ongoing Marine Board of Investigation is the highest level of marine accident investigation conducted by the Coast Guard.

The Titan imploded in the North Atlantic in June 2023, killing all five people on board and sparking a global debate about the future of private underwater exploration.

SEE ALSO: Billionaire plans to visit Titanic site a year after OceanGate crash

Among the victims is Stockton Rush, co-founder of OceanGate, the Washington state company that owned the Titan. The company suspended operations after the implosion. Witnesses scheduled to testify Monday include OceanGate’s former chief technology officer Tony Nissen, the company’s former chief financial officer Bonnie Carl and former entrepreneur Tym Catterson.

Some key OceanGate officials are not expected to testify, including Rush’s widow, Wendy Rush, who was the company’s communications director.

The Coast Guard does not comment on why specific individuals are not called to a particular hearing during an ongoing investigation, said Coast Guard spokeswoman Melissa Leake. She added that it is common for a marine board of inquiry “to hold multiple hearing sessions or conduct additional witness depositions for complex cases.”

According to a list prepared by the Coast Guard, OceanGate co-founder Guillermo Sohnlein, former chief operating officer David Lochridge and former chief science officer Steven Ross are expected to testify later in the hearing. Numerous Coast Guard officials, scientists and government and industry representatives are also expected to testify. The U.S. Coast Guard has subpoenaed witnesses who were not government employees, Leake said.

OceanGate does not currently have any full-time employees but will be represented by counsel at the hearing, the company said in a statement. The company has cooperated fully with the Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board investigations since they began, the statement said.

“There are no words to ease the loss suffered by the families affected by this devastating incident, but we hope this hearing will help shed light on the cause of the tragedy,” the statement added.

The Titan has become the focus of intense scrutiny in the underwater exploration community, partly because of its unconventional design and its creator’s decision to forgo standard independent controls. The implosion killed Rush and veteran Titanic explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet; two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and her 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood; and British adventurer Hamish Harding.

The Titan made its final dive on June 18, 2023, losing contact with its support vessel about two hours later. When it was reported overdue, rescuers dispatched ships, aircraft and other equipment to an area about 700 kilometres south of St. John’s, Newfoundland.

The search for the submersible drew worldwide attention as it became increasingly unlikely that anyone could have survived the implosion. The wreckage of the Titan was later found on the ocean floor about 300 yards from the Titanic’s bow, Coast Guard officials said.

The investigation was originally scheduled to last a year, but it has taken longer. In July, the Coast Guard said the hearing would focus on “all aspects of the Titan’s loss,” including mechanical considerations as well as compliance with regulations and crew qualifications.

The Titan has been making trips to the Titanic wreck site since 2021.