A “toxic workplace culture” was one of several contributing factors that led to the implosion of the Titan submersible on its way to the Titanic, a report has said.
The US Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) said in its report into Oceangate – the private company that owned the submersible – that “the loss of five lives was preventable”.
The 335-page report went on to make 17 safety recommendations, which MBI chairman Jason Neubauer said will help prevent future tragedies.
“There is a need for stronger oversight and clear options for operators who are exploring new concepts outside of the existing regulatory framework,” he said in a statement.
Investigators found that the submersible’s design, certification, maintenance and inspection process were all inadequate.
Image:
The Titan seen on the ocean floor
It also highlighted the fact that the company failed to look into known past problems with the hull, and that issues with the expedition were not monitored in real time and acted upon.
Other contributing factors included OceanGate’s safety culture and operational practices being critically flawed, and an “ineffective whistleblower process” as part of the Seaman’s Protection Act, the board found.
Numerous OceanGate employees have come forward in the two years since the implosion to support those claims. The report adds that the firing of senior staff members and the looming threat of being fired were used to dissuade employees and contractors from expressing safety concerns.
It read: “For several years preceding the incident, OceanGate leveraged intimidation tactics, allowances for scientific operations, and the company’s favourable reputation to evade regulatory scrutiny.
“By strategically creating and exploiting regulatory confusion and oversight challenges, OceanGate was ultimately able to operate Titan completely outside of the established deep-sea protocols, which had historically contributed to a strong safety record for commercial submersibles.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:55
New audio released from Titan sub
Read more
What happened to the Titan?
Hopes incident won’t be end of deep sea exploration
Why billionaires are drawn to extreme tourism
Titan went missing on its voyage to the wreck of the Titanic.
After five frantic days of searching, the wreckage was eventually found on the ocean floor roughly 500m from the sunken Titanic.
The implosion killed all five people on board – Titan operator Stockton Rush, who founded OceanGate, the company that owned the submersible; two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman; British adventurer Hamish Harding; and Titanic expert and the sub’s pilot, Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
The MBI investigation was launched shortly after the disaster.
During two weeks of testimony in September 2024, the former OceanGate scientific director said the Titan malfunctioned during a dive just a few days before it imploded.
OceanGate’s former operations boss also told the panel the sub was a huge risk and the company was only focused on profit.