NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC/AP) - The U.S. Coast Guard will begin hearing public testimony Monday on the submersible Titan disaster that killed five people last year.
Titan was on an expedition to explore the wreck of the Titanic when contact was lost 1 hour and 47 minutes into its dive on Sunday, June 18, 2023.
OceanGate, the Washington state company that owned the Titan submersible, suspended operations after the implosion that killed company co-founder Stockton Rush, veteran Titanic explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet; two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood; and British adventurer Hamish Harding.
The Titan's loss sparked a worldwide debate about the future of private undersea exploration.
U.S. Coast Guard Vice Adm. Peter W. Gautier, deputy commandant for operations, quickly convened the Marine Board Investigation, the highest level of investigation in the Coast Guard.
That inquiry reaches its public hearing phase on Monday in North Charleston.
The time frame for the investigation into the loss of the submersible was initially a year, but the inquiry has taken longer. The Coast Guard said in a July 2024 statement that the public hearing will "examine all aspects of the loss of the Titan, including pre-accident historical events, regulatory compliance, crewmember duties and qualifications, mechanical and structural systems, emergency response and the submersible industry."
The Coast Guard, along with other agencies, international partners and private entities, conducted an extensive search and found the wreckage on the ocean floor, approximately 300 meters off the bow of the Titanic.
All five passengers were declared dead.
Upon completion of the investigation, the Board will issue a report to the commandant with the evidence collected, the facts established, its conclusions and recommendations.
The Titan had been making voyages to the Titanic wreckage site going back to 2021. The company has declined to comment publicly on the Coast Guard's investigation.