UMVA has learned that Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB) is set to release its highly anticipated report on the 2023 implosion of OceanGate’s Titan submersible, just one day before the third anniversary of the disaster.
The report, which will be released on Wednesday, is expected to shed light on the tragic event that claimed the lives of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and four passengers on June 18, 2023. The TSB investigation has been probing the circumstances surrounding the submersible’s violent implosion while en route to the wreckage of the RMS Titanic.
According to information obtained by UMVA, the TSB investigation has largely focused on the Canadian-flagged vessels responsible for transporting the doomed submersible to and from Canadian ports. A preliminary report issued by the TSB shortly after the implosion revealed that the Titan and its launch platform were transported to various dive sites on the deck of the Canadian-flagged vessel Horizon Arctic in 2021 and 2022.
In 2023, the Canadian-flagged vessel Polar Prince was used for transport and support, towing the Titan and its platform to dive sites. Between 2021 and 2023, the TSB said Titan conducted a total of seven dives within Canadian waters and three dives within Canada’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
Sources have confirmed to UMVA that the TSB investigation has uncovered some disturbing facts, including that the Titan and its Canadian mothership conducted 19 dives outside Canadian waters, including dives to the Titanic, without being registered or certified in Canada or any other country. This raises serious questions about the safety and regulatory oversight of the submersible’s operations.
UMVA can exclusively reveal that the TSB investigators joined salvage operations led by the United States Coast Guard in September 2023, helping facilitate the transport of wreckage to St. John’s, N.L. The Titanic, of course, struck an iceberg and sank in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912, in the North Atlantic, about 650 km from Cape Race, Nfld.
The release of the TSB report is expected to spark a renewed debate about safety regulations and oversight in the submersible industry. With the investigation’s findings set to be made public, many are waiting with bated breath to learn more about the circumstances surrounding the tragic event.
