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Titan submersible imploded due to poor engineering, say US officials

October 16, 2025

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that OceanGate's Titan submersible imploded during its journey to the Titanic wreckage due to inadequate engineering, insufficient testing, and undetected damage. The June 2023 disaster killed all five people aboard, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and four passengers who paid up to $250,000 each for the experience. The investigation revealed a problematic safety culture at OceanGate, with evidence that safety concerns were ignored and that the company attempted to circumvent regulations by labeling paying customers as "mission specialists" rather than passengers.

Who is affected

  • The five deceased individuals (OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, deep-sea explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood, Suleman Dawood, and Hamish Harding)
  • OceanGate as a company (now permanently closed)
  • The submersible industry and its regulatory framework
  • Potential future submersible passengers

What action is being taken

  • The NTSB is recommending that the US Coast Guard commission a study into how pressure vessels carrying people are assessed
  • The NTSB is suggesting updates to regulations if the study indicates changes are needed
  • The US Coast Guard has already released its own report calling the incident "preventable"

Why it matters

  • The incident resulted in five fatalities that could have been prevented with proper engineering and testing
  • It exposed significant regulatory gaps in the submersible industry, as current guidelines were "insufficient to ensure OceanGate adhered to established industry standards"
  • It highlighted how experimental vessels can operate with paying customers by using terminology loopholes
  • The failure reveals how poor safety culture at a company can lead to catastrophic consequences

What's next

  • The US Coast Guard may conduct a study on how pressure vessels carrying people are assessed
  • Potential updates to regulations based on study findings
  • No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: BBC