The offshore supply ship Atlantic Melvin turns around after delivering the launch pad for the Titan sub beside the Polar Prince, on June 24.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Canadian investigators have conducted interviews in St. John’s with the crew and family members on the ship that towed the Titan submersible to the site of its doomed voyage, while the U.S. Coast Guard says search teams have finished locating what remained of the vessel.
Marine safety agencies in both countries launched investigations on Friday into why the Titan imploded deep under water, killing all five people on board, during a sightseeing descent to the wreck of the Titanic – and how the experimental vessel came to make the dangerous trip in the first place.
The Titan’s disappearance on June 18 prompted an international search-and-rescue effort to find the vessel before its oxygen supply ran out, until, on Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard announced a remote-controlled underwater vehicle had found a piece of the submersible. The coast guard said the damage pointed to a catastrophic implosion that destroyed the sub, which lost contact one hour and 45 minutes into its 10-hour round trip.
The Polar Prince, the Canadian-flagged vessel that towed the Titan out to the North Atlantic, docked back in St. John’s on Saturday, allowing the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) to start analyzing the ship’s data recorder and begin conducting interviews with those on board.
The head of the U.S. Coast Guard investigation said Sunday that crews at the site of the incident, which is located roughly 700 kilometres south of St. John’s, had finished mapping debris of the Titan. Pieces of the submersible, including the tail cone, and two sections of the hull, were discovered about 500 metres from the bow of the Titanic, which lies four kilometres below the surface.
“The salvage operation is ongoing,” said Captain Jason Neubauer, the chief investigator. “Resources are on site and capable of recovering the debris.”
Capt. Neubauer said the U.S. Coast Guard was working with the Canadian TSB, as well as British and French agencies, to conduct its investigation, which will involve a public hearing to collect additional witness testimony, after teams finish collecting on-scene evidence.
“My primary goal is to prevent a similar occurrence,” he said. The U.S. Coast Guard’s marine board of investigation will determine the cause of the incident, and will work with international partners to improve regulation or safety standards. The board can also recommend whether criminal or civil sanctions should be pursued by a separate investigation.
Officials at Canada’s TSB said their investigation, which will co-ordinate with other international agencies, will look at safety-related issues around the vessels. The RCMP is also exploring whether to conduct a criminal investigation.
“We are looking at all aspects including any vessels that were used, the registration, the construction, the ownership,” Cliff Harvey, the TSB’s director of marine investigation said at a news conference Saturday.
The tragedy has raised questions about the risks taken by OceanGate Expeditions – the company offering Titanic trips at up to $250,000 a person – and its chief executive officer, Stockton Rush. Mr. Rush perished while piloting the Titan, a 21-foot carbon fibre and titanium sub he had designed and launched despite concerns from safety experts and engineers.
A voyage on the Titan was an example of extreme tourism available to wealthy adventure-seekers willing to pay the hefty ticket and sign the liability waiver – in this case, for a peek at the famous Titanic, which sunk in 1912 after hitting an iceberg on its way from England to New York City, taking more than 1,500 lives. Along with Mr. Rush, the passengers lost on the Titan included British billionaire Hamish Harding, French explorer and Titanic expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman.
Capt. Neubauer declined to say how long the investigation would take, but TSB investigations can take as long as two years to complete. In this case, several countries would potentially be involved since OceanGate was based in the U.S., the submersible was registered in the Bahamas and the trip began in Newfoundland.
With files from The Canadian Press