The National Transportation Safety Board blamed OceanGate’s “inadequate engineering process” for the deadly 2023 implosion of the company’s Titan submersible in a final report released Wednesday.
“We found that OceanGate’s engineering process for the Titan was inadequate and resulted in the construction of a carbon fiber composite pressure vessel that contained multiple anomalies and failed to meet necessary strength and durability requirements,” the NTSB stated in its 87-page report.
The vessel imploded while on its 88th dive, killing five people on a deep-sea voyage to the Titanic wreckage on June 18, 2023.
The NTSB’s final report found that the vessel was damaged after dive 80 and again on dive 82, and that it continued to deteriorate until it catastrophically imploded on dive 88.
“Because OceanGate did not adequately test the Titan, the company was unaware of the pressure vessel’s actual strength and durability, which was likely much lower than their target, as well as the implications of how certain operational changes, including storage condition and towing, could impact the integrity of the pressure vessel and overall safety of the vessel,” the report stated. “Additionally, OceanGate’s analysis of Titan pressure vessel real-time monitoring data was flawed, so the company was unaware that the Titan was damaged and needed to be immediately removed from service after dive 80.”
The NTSB said insufficient U.S and international standards further contributed to the implosion, as they were not enough to keep OceanGate in check.
As a result, the agency has issued new safety recommendations for the Coast Guard and the International Maritime Organization regarding operations of human-occupied pressure vessels.
They include that the U.S. Coast Guard commission a panel of experts to study current operations of the vessels, such as the maintenance and operation of submersibles, and implement U.S. regulations based on the findings.
The NTSB’s findings are in line with the key findings from the U.S. Coast Guard’s final report on its investigation into the implosion, released earlier this year.
The Coast Guard’s 335-page report singled out OceanGate’s “inadequate design, certification, maintenance and inspection process for the Titan.” The submersible imploded due to “loss of structural integrity of the Titan pressure vessel,” the report found.
The report also criticized the company’s CEO, Stockton Rush, and singled him out as a major reason for the disaster. Rush was warned repeatedly about how dangerous his submersible was and not only ignored all the warnings, but threatened anyone who raised concerns, according to the report. Many who spoke up were threatened with lawsuits or termination, it said.
Rush, the co-founder of OceanGate, was among those killed in the June 2023 implosion. Had he survived, the Coast Guard’s investigative team would have recommended manslaughter charges to the DOJ, the report said.
In addition to Rush, those killed in the implosion included French explorer and Titanic expert Paul Henri Nargeolet, British businessman Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman.
In response to the Coast Guard report, OceanGate said in a statement, “We again offer our deepest condolences to the families of those who died on June 18, 2023, and to all those impacted by the tragedy. After the tragedy occurred, the company permanently wound down operations and directed its resources fully towards cooperating with the Coast Guard’s inquiry through its completion.”
