A final study released Tuesday details how a private submersible visiting the Titanic site in 2023 died because to several disregards for fundamental safety procedures.
The high-profile accident that claimed the lives of all five passengers was caused by a long list of problems with OceanGate’s operations and design defects in its Titan submersible, according to the US Coast Guard inquiry.
“The primary causal factor” for the implosion, according to the study, was OceanGate’s disregard for established engineering processes for the safety, testing, and maintenance of their submersible.
Additionally, it charged the business with using “intimidation tactics…to evade regulatory scrutiny.”
According to the report, OceanGate’s “toxic workplace environment used firings of senior staff members and the looming threat of being fired to dissuade employees and contractors from expressing safety concerns.”
The submersible failed during its voyage in the North Atlantic Ocean, killing Pakistani-British tycoon Shahzada Dawood, British explorer Hamish Harding, French deep-sea explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and company chief executive Stockton Rush and his son Suleman.
The world was captivated by the international search for survivors that began after connections with the sub were lost.
However, the study stated that when the hull disintegrated, the occupants “were exposed to approximately 4,930 pounds per square inch of water pressure,” which led to “instantaneous death.”
Approximately 1,600 feet (500 meters) from the Titanic’s bow, debris was discovered on the ocean floor.
OceanGate kept using Titan “after a series of incidents that compromised the integrity of the hull and other critical components of the submersible without properly assessing or inspecting the hull,” according to the Coast Guard’s investigation.
The carbon fiber hull of Titan was found to have design defects that “weakened the overall structural integrity.”
Since its discovery in 1985, the Titanic debris, which lies 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, has drawn the attention of both underwater visitors and nautical specialists.
With 2,224 passengers and crew on board, the ship sank in 1912 while making its inaugural journey from England to New York after colliding with an iceberg. Over 1,500 people lost their lives.
