(Washington) Oceangate company, guilty of multiple failures, is the “first” responsible for the implosion of the private submersible Titanwhich claimed the lives of five people during an exploration of the wreckage of Titanic In 2023, the American coast guard said in a report on Tuesday.
The coast guard survey concluded that “Oceangate non-compliance with engineering protocols established in terms of security, testing and maintenance of his submersible was the leading cause (of the accident)”, according to the report.
THE Titana small submersible 6.5 meters long, from the American company Oceangate Expeditions, had plunged on June 18, 2023 to observe the wreckage of Titanic And had to resurface seven hours later, but the contact had been lost less than two hours after his departure.
A vast very publicized rescue operation had been initiated, but the submersible had been destroyed shortly after his dive by a “catastrophic implosion” killing the five passengers on the spot, including the 77-year-old French scientist Paul-Henri Nargeolet, nicknamed “M. Titanic”, and the boss of Oceangate, Stockton Rush.
Controversies over negligence had arisen very quickly after the accident, especially on the porthole which could not have technically resistant to such depths.
“For several years before the accident, Oceangate used intimidation tactics, derogations granted for scientific operations, and took advantage of its good reputation to escape the surveillance of the regulatory authorities,” wrote the coast guard in their investigation report.
The company “was finally able to operate the Titan In the total margin of the protocols established for deep water dives, which had however historically made it possible to ensure a good security assessment for commercial submersibles “, they also denounced a” toxic working environment “, which” dissuaded employees and subcontractors from expressing their concerns in terms of security “.
