(Newsnation) – the Titan submersible It did not meet manufacturing safety standards, according to Wednesday a report From the National Transportation Safety Board.
The report blamed OceanGate’s “inadequate engineering process” for the disaster that killed five people during a cruise to view the Titanic’s wreckage.
“OceanGate failed to determine the actual strength and durability of the Titan pressure vessel, resulting in the company operating a carbon fiber composite vessel that sustained delamination damage that was later compounded by additional damage of unknown origin, resulting in damage to the internal structure that subsequently led to local buckling failure of the pressure vessels.”
The agency recommended enhanced systems for small ships such as the Titan submarine.
echoes the NTSB report That of the Coast Guardwhich was released in August.
The Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation report found that OceanGate had “seriously deficient” safety procedures, noting that the core of the failures within the company came down to “stark discrepancies” between safety protocols and actual practices.
Titan’s disappearance off Canada on June 18, 2023, sparked a search that received global attention, and the Coast Guard deployed the highest level of investigation in the aftermath.
Titan lost contact with its support ship after an hour and 45 minutes of diving, approximately 12,000 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. Officials searched for the submarine for four days until evidence of an implosion on the ocean floor was found.
Stockton Rush, co-founder of OceanGate, was among the five who died. Other victims included Paul Henry Nargiolet, Hamish Harding, Shahzada Daoud and his son Suleiman Daoud.
After the implosion, Washington state-based OceanGate suspended operations.
NewsNation’s Taylor DeLandro contributed to this report.