(Washington) Two months after the US Coast Guard, a US government agency on Wednesday again blamed the failures of the OceanGate company for the implosion of the submersible Titanwhich cost the lives of five people during an exploration of the wreck of the Titanic in 2023.
“We found that OceanGate’s engineering process for the Titan was inadequate (…) and did not meet the necessary requirements for strength and durability,” the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a report.
“OceanGate did not properly test the Titanand therefore ignored the actual strength and durability of the pressure vessel, which were likely well below their targets,” the agency argued.
OceanGate’s analysis of monitoring data was “flawed,” she added, so “the company was unaware that the Titan was damaged and should be immediately removed from service” after a previous dive.
THE Titana small submersible approximately 6.5 meters long from OceanGate, dived on June 18, 2023 to observe the wreck of the Titanic and was due to resurface seven hours later, but contact was lost less than two hours after his departure.
The submersible was destroyed shortly after its dive by a “catastrophic implosion” killing the five passengers instantly, including the 77-year-old French scientist Paul-Henri Nargeolet, nicknamed “Mr. Titanic”, and the boss of OceanGate, Stockton Rush, 61 years old.
Controversies over negligence arose very quickly after the accident.
The American Coast Guard opened an investigation and conducted, in September 2024, a series of public hearings with around twenty witnesses, including former OceanGate employees.
At the beginning of August 2025, they revealed a 335-page investigation report accusing the company of numerous failings in design and maintenance.
OceanGate, which charged US$250,000 for a place in the submersible, suspended its commercial activities after the tragedy.
The family of French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet sued the company a year ago and is demanding $50 million from it for “gross negligence.”
