Failed Adhesive Joint Likely Led to Submersible Disaster

The Coast Guard has wrapped up a two-year investigation into the deadly explosion of the Titan ocean submersible in 2023, and one salient point stands out:

• "This marine casualty and the loss of five lives was preventable," said Jason Neubauer, chairman of the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation, reports NBC News.

Details:

• The report detailed the problems with Titan owner OceanGate, finding that the company had "critically flawed" safety procedures, reports the BBC. Had he lived, OceanGate chief executive Stockton Rush, who was on the doomed submersible, would likely have faced charges of criminal negligence, the report notes.
• The "initiating event" in the fatal explosion was the "loss of structural integrity of the Titan pressure vessel," said the report. Specifically, it said an adhesive joint on the hull appears to have failed.
• The Coast Guard said OceanGate "leveraged intimidation tactics, allowances for scientific operations, and the company's favorable reputation to evade regulatory scrutiny," per the AP. "By strategically creating and exploiting regulatory confusion and oversight challenges, OceanGate was ultimately able to operate Titan completely outside of the established deep-sea protocols."
• Going forward, there is a "need for stronger oversight and clear options for operators who are exploring new concepts outside of the existing regulatory framework," Neubauer said, per NBC.