Canada Missed Chances to Inspect Titan Before Fatal Implosion, Report Finds
13 reported1 unconfirmed
A report from Canada’s Transportation Safety Board has identified regulatory failures that allowed OceanGate’s Titan submersible to operate out of St. John’s, Newfoundland, for years before it imploded on a tourist trip to the Titanic wreck in 2023. The TSB chair stated that critical information existed across multiple federal government organizations, but no one was responsible for connecting the dots. The Titan was unregistered, unflagged, and uncertified. OceanGate first interacted with the Canadian government while the sub was still being assembled in Everett, Washington. In May 2021, Fisheries and Oceans Canada planned to pay the company $25,000 to support research, but Global Affairs Canada denied a research permit after OceanGate inaccurately claimed Fisheries and Oceans would sponsor it. The Titan’s maiden voyage to the Titanic was unsuccessful after a titanium dome fell off, and the ship returned to St. John’s, where armed border security agents boarded and questioned passengers about Covid-19 precautions and the lack of a research permit. Transport Canada had decided the Titan was cargo, not a vessel subject to inspection. A Fisheries and Oceans researcher reported in July 2021 that the Titan had not been approved or certified and was not carrying insurance, but those concerns never reached Transport Canada’s marine safety team. The TSB calculated that a hull made to OceanGate’s specifications might have lasted hundreds of millions of dives, but the composite samples as built had defects that could cause failure in as few as 30 deep dives. The Titan imploded on its 24th mission deeper than 1,000 meters, killing all five people on board, including CEO Stockton Rush.
What’s reported
The TSB report says critical information existed across multiple federal organizations but no one connected the dots.
The Titan was unregistered, unflagged, and uncertified.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada planned to pay OceanGate $25,000 for research in May 2021.
Global Affairs Canada denied a research permit after OceanGate inaccurately claimed Fisheries and Oceans would sponsor it.
The Titan’s maiden voyage failed after a titanium dome fell off.
Armed border security agents boarded the Horizon Arctic and questioned passengers about Covid-19 and the lack of a research permit.
Transport Canada considered the Titan cargo, not a vessel subject to inspection.
A Fisheries and Oceans researcher reported in July 2021 that the Titan was not approved, certified, or insured.
Those concerns never reached Transport Canada’s marine safety team.
TSB tested carbon fiber samples and found porosity and waviness that could cause failure in as few as 30 deep dives.
The Titan imploded on its 24th mission deeper than 1,000 meters.
All five people on board died, including CEO Stockton Rush.
The TSB recommends increased oversight of risky vessels and requiring all human-occupied submersibles to meet international construction and safety standards.
Open questions
The report does not clarify where the disconnect occurred between Fisheries and Oceans’ concerns and Transport Canada’s marine safety team.
Key figures
Yoan Marier, chair of Canada’s Transportation Safety Board
Gary Philbrick, passenger on the Titan’s maiden voyage
David Concannon, lawyer who worked with OceanGate
Etienne Seguin-Bertrand, investigator with the Transportation Safety Board
Jason Melvin, TSB investigator
Stockton Rush, OceanGate CEO and chief pilot (deceased)
Sources: Wired
