U.S. Coast Guard launches public investigation into Titan submersible implosion

The U.S. Coast Guard began a multi-day hearing Monday to examine the loss of the Titan — the ill-fated submersible that authorities say imploded in the North Atlantic Ocean in June 2023, killing all five people aboard during a dive toward the wreck of the Titanic.

The public hearing is being conducted by the Marine Investigation Board, which met days after the submersible went missing. The Marine Investigation Board, the Coast Guard’s highest level of investigation, was tasked with examining the causes of the tragedy and making recommendations, including possible civil penalties and criminal prosecutions.

“Over the past 15 months, our team has worked continuously in close coordination 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 news conference Sunday.

“The upcoming hearings will allow us to present our findings and hear directly from key witnesses and subject matter experts in a transparent forum,” Neubauer said, adding that the proceedings “are a critical step in our mission to understand the contributing factors that led to the incident and, more importantly, the actions necessary to prevent a similar event from happening again.”

The submersible lost contact with its mother ship about an hour and 45 minutes into its dive toward the Titanic on June 18, 2023. When it failed to resurface, an international search and rescue mission took place in the remote waters several hundred miles southeast of Newfoundland, Canada.

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

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

The Coast Guard previously said the hearing would focus on “historical events prior to the accident, regulatory compliance, crew member duties and qualifications, mechanical and structural systems, emergency response and the submersible industry.”

The witness list includes a series of former employees of OceanGate Expeditions, the Everett, Washington-based company that operated the 23,000-pound vessel, charging about $250,000 per ticket. The company has been questioned about its operations following reports of safety concerns.

The company’s attorneys are present at the hearing and will be able to cross-examine witnesses, Neubauer said in his opening statement. On Monday, Jane Shvets, one of the company’s attorneys, offered her condolences to the families of the deceased.

“There are no words to ease the loss suffered by the families affected by this tragic incident,” she said, “but we hope this hearing will help shed light on the cause of the tragedy and prevent something like this from happening again.”

The MBI is comprised of numerous Coast Guard officials and at least two members of the National Transportation Safety Board, according to a list provided by the Coast Guard. Other witnesses expected to testify include regulatory officials, search and rescue specialists, underwater exploration experts and engineers from NASA and Boeing.

Although the primary purpose of the hearing is to “uncover the facts surrounding the incident,” Neubauer acknowledged that the board is also tasked with identifying “the fault or negligence of the certified mariners.”

“And if a criminal act is detected, we will make a recommendation to the Department of Justice,” he said.

The Maritime Board of Investigation is the highest level of investigation in the Coast Guard: About one MBI hearing is convened each year, Neubauer said, adding that “out of thousands of investigations that are conducted, fewer than one reaches this level.”

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

Once the investigation is complete, the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board will each conduct an independent analysis and prepare reports, Neubauer said Sunday. He cautioned that more hearings could be held in the future, and he did not provide an estimated timeline for the investigation’s conclusion.

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