OceanGate Titan Sub hearing live: US Coast Guard opens public hearing on disaster voyage that killed five
A public hearing is set to begin today into the Titan submersible’s disastrous deep-sea voyage following its implosion on its journey to the wreck of the Titanic, killing all five passengers on board.
Ten former employees of Oceangate – the US submersible company that operated the expedition – are among 24 witnesses giving testimony to the Titan Marine Board of Investigation.
The US Coast Guard said the two-week long hearing in Charleston County, South Carolina, will attempt to “uncover facts” while also “developing recommendations to prevent similar tragedies in the future.”
The Titan sub was attempting to dive 2.4 miles to reach the Titanic shipwreck which lies 380 miles from St John’s in Newfoundland, Canada, when it lost contact on June 18 2023. After four days, debris of the submersible was found close to the wreck.
A “catastrophic implosion” had occurred, killing all five crew members: British explorer Hamish Harding, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, OceanGate’s CEO Stockton Rush and French deep-sea explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet (known as “Mr Titanic”).
The investigation will detect whether there was criminal activity or “negligence by credentialed mariners,” Jason Neubauer, Titan Marine Board of Investigation’s chairman, said on Sunday.
