An engineer from the National Transportation Safety Board is scheduled to provide testimony to the Coast Guard regarding the experimental submersible that collapsed while en route to the Titanic wreckage. Engineer Don Kramer is set to testify as the inquiry continues into the implosion of OceanGate’s Titan submersible. The incident in June 2023 led to the deaths of five individuals, including OceanGate co-founder Stockton Rush.
The Coast Guard initiated a public hearing earlier this month as part of a thorough investigation into the implosion’s cause. Testimonies from the hearing have highlighted concerns about the company’s practices. Former OceanGate operations director, David Lochridge, mentioned his conflicts with Rush and expressed his belief that the company’s primary focus was on financial gain rather than scientific advancement.
Lochridge and other witnesses described the company as eager to deploy its uniquely designed craft into the water quickly. The disaster sparked a global discussion on the future of private undersea exploration. The hearing is anticipated to extend through Friday, featuring additional witnesses closely associated with the company, including William Kohnen of Hydrospace Group Inc. and Bart Kemper of Kemper Engineering.
The co-founder of OceanGate expressed hope that a positive outcome of the tragedy would be to reignite interest in exploration, particularly in the deepest parts of the world’s oceans. Businessman Guillermo Sohnlein, who was involved in founding OceanGate with Rush but had left the company before the Titan incident, emphasized the necessity of continuing deep-sea exploration and the development of deep-diving submersibles.
Coast Guard officials highlighted at the beginning of the hearing that the submersible had not undergone independent review, a standard procedure. This, combined with the unconventional design of the Titan, subjected it to scrutiny within the undersea exploration community. OceanGate, headquartered in Washington state, halted its operations following the implosion and currently has no full-time staff, with legal representation present at the hearing.
During the final dive of the submersible on June 18, 2023, communication was lost following an exchange of messages about Titan’s depth and weight as it descended. The support ship, Polar Prince, repeatedly inquired if Titan could still detect the ship on its display. One of the last communications from Titan’s crew to Polar Prince before the implosion indicated that everything was fine, as per a visual representation displayed during the hearing.
Following the submersible being reported overdue, search operations were promptly launched with ships, planes, and equipment mobilized to an area approximately 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland. The wreckage of the Titan was located on the ocean floor about 330 yards (300 meters) from the bow of the Titanic, with no survivors aboard.
OceanGate stated its full cooperation with the investigations by the Coast Guard and NTSB since their initiation. Titan had been conducting expeditions to the Titanic wreckage site since 2021.
