The United States Coast Guard’s investigation into the Titan submersible disaster has now concluded two weeks of public testimony, revealing new information about the company, the vessel, and its final moments.
During the hearing, held in South Carolina, several former employees and executives of OceanGate came forward to testify about the company and the 2023 incident that saw five people lose their lives.
Among those to die aboard the Titan submersible were OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush; businessman Hamish Harding; diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet; billionaire Shahzada Dawood; and Dawood’s 19-year-old son, Suleman Dawood.
The five Titan passengers were venturing to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean to view the wreckage of the Titanic when the submersible imploded, instantly killing them.
During the two-week hearing, testimony revealed several key pieces of information, including failures by the company to uphold safety standards, issues with Rush and his behavior on other submersibles, and even the last chilling message from the Titan.
The Coast Guard revealed that the last message sent by the Titan vessel before losing signal with its support ship was, “All good here.”
The message is much more unsettling knowing that the submersible made it just 1 hour and 45 minutes into its venture until it suffered a “catastrophic implosion,” according to the Coast Guard. The implosion was caused by the vessel being unable to handle deep-sea pressure, the investigation concluded.
OceanGate whistleblower David Lochridge detailed an incident involving another submersible, Cyclops, in which Rush allegedly crashed into the wreckage of another ship and threw the vessel’s Playstation controller, which was used as a steering wheel, at Lochridge after those on board demanded he hand it over.
Roy Thomas, an engineer for the American Bureau of Shipping, also testified that the company never reached out to his organization to have the vessel inspected. He said that the materials used by the vessel are “susceptible to fatigue failure” in deep-sea pressure settings. Because of this, he says his organization would never have OK’d the craft for use.
Among the other findings shared in the hearing were several photos and videos from the bottom of the ocean, showing the wreckage of the Titan. The tail of the vessel is now resting near the bow of the Titanic, while other pieces of the submersible can be seen across the floor of the ocean.
The findings from the investigation will be issued in a report that will determine whether the incident was caused by any acts of misconduct, negligence, or violation of law. It will also lay out possible safety recommendations that could stop another incident like this from happening.