The US Coast Guard began hearings on Monday, September 16, into the undersea implosion of a tourist submersible that killed all five people aboard in June 2023 while diving to the century-old wreck of the Titanic.
Coast Guard auxiliaries created an animation using data from the support vessel Polar Prince and Titan's telemetry, including all text communications during the dive. Testimonies by former employees revealed safety concerns and highlighted insufficient training by staff, while also depicting the company's founder, Stockton Rush, as negligent.
The accident has raised questions about the unregulated nature of such expeditions and the decision by OceanGate to forego third-party industry review and certification of Titan's novel design.