Critical Insights Emerge from Coast Guard's Titan Submersible Hearing
Two weeks of public testimony concluded Friday in the U.S. Coast Guard’s investigation to determine the cause of the Titan submersible's implosion during a deep ocean dive last year, resulting in the deaths of all five on board.
The findings, to be issued in a report, may include the panel's beliefs on the incident's cause, any acts of misconduct, negligence, or legal violations, and safety recommendations to prevent future submersible disasters.
The hearing in South Carolina featured testimonies from former employees and executives of OceanGate, the Washington-based operator of the Titan, as well as industry experts. These testimonies aimed to piece together the company's culture, business plan, and the events leading up to the fatal dive.
In June 2023, the Titan was nearly two hours into its descent to view the Titanic wreckage in the North Atlantic Ocean off Canada when it lost contact with its support ship, triggering a frantic search. Public interest intensified with reports of "banging noises" from the search site and concerns over the passengers' survival in a cramped, oxygen-depleted tube.
Those on board included OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, 61, who was piloting the Titan; deep-sea explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, experienced in visiting the Titanic wreck site; British tycoon Hamish Harding, 58; and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son, Suleman, 19.
OceanGate faced immediate scrutiny due to the disaster, partly because it involved civilian passengers paying $250,000 each for the expedition, and also because fatal incidents involving submersibles capable of diving as deep as the Titanic are rare.
Here are key revelations from the Coast Guard’s hearing
Debris Images Confirmed Implosion
At the outset of the hearing, the Coast Guard released photos and video of the Titan’s tail cone resting on the Atlantic seabed near the Titanic’s bow. Officials initially concluded that the Titan likely experienced a "catastrophic implosion" due to its inability to withstand deep-sea water pressure. The discovery of the debris confirmed that no one survived.
The Coast Guard also revealed one of the last messages the Titan sent to its support ship before losing contact: “All good here.”
Newly released video shows the Titan submersible’s tail cone in full detail. This remotely operated vehicle footage expands on the exhibit image released yesterday to provide clearer context and transparency. #TitanMBI Download it here: https://t.co/lz0nunnokj pic.twitter.com/AbHtpxXfwr
— USCG MaritimeCommons (@maritimecommons) September 17, 2024
Former Employees Reveal Concerns
David Lochridge, the former marine operations director of OceanGate, testified that Rush prioritized profits and cost-cutting measures over building a viable submersible. "The whole idea behind the company was to make money," said Lochridge, who was fired after about two years. "There was very little in the way of science."
Another former engineering executive, Tony Nissen, voiced concerns to Rush after the Titan’s original carbon fiber hull was compromised by lightning during a test mission in 2018. Nissen was fired after refusing to sign off on another test mission the following year.
Amber Bay, OceanGate’s former director of administration, testified that the company struggled financially, with Rush dipping into his own funds to meet payroll. Employees were also asked to defer their paychecks.
OSHA Accused of Delayed Response
In January 2018, following his firing at OceanGate, Lochridge filed a quality inspection report with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). However, he claimed OSHA dragged its feet, allowing OceanGate to go unchecked as it designed and built the Titan.
An OSHA spokesperson responded that the agency forwarded Lochridge’s safety allegations to the Coast Guard, which has jurisdiction over such claims. The agency could only review claims of employment retaliation, and the investigation followed the normal process and timeline for a retaliation case.
Titan Never Inspected by Industry Organization
Roy Thomas, an engineer for the American Bureau of Shipping, testified that OceanGate never contacted the organization, which advises and verifies whether marine vessels comply with industry standards. Thomas noted that the choice of carbon fiber for the hull, while used in the aerospace industry, is "susceptible to fatigue failure" in deep-sea pressure settings. Submersible hulls typically use titanium, and carbon fiber is also costlier.
Thomas added that the organization would never have classified the Titan based on the materials used. The Coast Guard also noted at the start of the hearing that the Titan never underwent an independent review, which is standard practice in the industry.
Titan Malfunctioned Days Before Final Dive
The Titan suffered more than 100 equipment issues in the two years before the June 2023 implosion, including losing its forward dome during a test dive in 2021 and a mechanical failure during an expedition to the Titanic that had to be aborted.
Marine scientist Steven Ross testified that the Titan malfunctioned days before the implosion. Rush was piloting a trip with Ross and others on board. An issue with the Titan’s buoyancy caused the platform to shift, leaving passengers to "tumble about." No one was hurt, but it took an hour to get out of the water during such a distressing incident.
#TitanMBI has released Exhibit CG-102, showing a photo of the forward dome that detached after Titan dive 61 on June 30, 2021—an incident noted in testimony from Mr. Hagan and Ms. Rojas, and also identified on Exhibit CG-52. Find more on the hearing ➡️https://t.co/YqgDikoekr pic.twitter.com/2iZZWFJgC4
— USCG MaritimeCommons (@maritimecommons) September 22, 2024
Exact Cause of Implosion May Be ‘Indeterminate’
Expert testimony from Bart Kemper of Kemper Engineering Services gave preliminary findings for what may have caused the disaster. Among the possibilities, he said, are breakage of the carbon fiber hull, a manufacturing failure related to the hull, or an issue with the acrylic window.
Ultimately, "the root cause for the implosion is indeterminate at this time," Kemper said.
Earlier in the hearing, OceanGate co-founder Guillermo Söhnlein, who left the company a decade before the Titan disaster but continued to champion Rush’s efforts, said a cause for the implosion may never be known. “I don’t know who made what decision when and based on what information,” he told the hearing panel. “And honestly, I don’t know if any of us will ever know this, despite all of your team’s investigative efforts.”
OceanGate CEO Had Cavalier Attitude: ‘No One is Dying’
Witnesses who knew Rush painted a picture of a businessman striving for innovation in creating a new type of submersible but also refusing to slow down.
Matthew McCoy, a former OceanGate operations technician, testified about a "tense" meeting with Rush in 2017 about what the CEO said he would do if he came under regulatory scrutiny at a U.S. port. "If the Coast Guard became a problem, then he would buy himself a congressman and make it go away," McCoy said, adding that he resigned soon after.
William Kohnen, the CEO and founder of submersible maker Hydrospace Group, said he spoke to Rush in 2018 about the direction of OceanGate. Rush "said the usual response that ‘it takes too long,’" Kohnen testified about getting OceanGate’s submersible classified by the industry. "‘It’s too expensive and they don’t know about this technology. I don’t have time to explain my technology.’"
That same year, Lochridge had confronted Rush about his safety concerns before he was fired. In a transcript of the conversation made public by the Coast Guard as part of the hearing, Rush denied he was going to put anyone at risk with the Titan. "Everything I’ve done on this project is people telling me it won’t work, you can’t do that," Rush said.
"I can come up with 50 reasons why we have to call it off and we fail as a company," he added. "I’m not dying. No one is dying under my watch, period."