Video released by the Coast Guard Marine Investigation Board shows the wreckage of the Titan submersible, which sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean after an explosion killed all five people on board.
Footage from a remotely operated vehicle showed the ship's tail cone sunk to the ocean floor, providing crucial evidence investigators needed to determine the devastating loss following the June 18, 2023, incident.
The Titan's explosion occurred within two hours of its descent towards the wreckage of the Titanic.
The submersible was owned by Ocean Gate Corp. The company's former director of operations, David Lockridge, told investigators Tuesday that the Titan tragedy could have been prevented if federal safety agencies had investigated complaints filed with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
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The Titan submersible in the Bahamas in May 2018. Titan imploded during a mission to inspect the Titanic on Monday, June 19, 2023. (Becky Kagan Schott)
“As a seafarer, I am deeply disappointed with this system which is designed to protect not only seafarers but also the public,” he said.
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David Lockridge, former president of marine operations for Ocean Gate, testifies during a Titan Marine Commission formal hearing in the Charleston County Council Chambers, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in North Charleston, South Carolina. (Andrew J. Whitaker/Post and Courier via The Associated Press, Pool)
Lockridge refused to approve manned testing of the submersible, citing safety concerns.
In his testimony, Lockridge said that eight months after he filed his complaint with OSHA, a caseworker told him that OSHA had not yet begun its investigation and that he had 11 cases before him. At that point, Ocean Gate had sued Lockridge, and Lockridge had filed a countersuit.
The exhibits will be presented at the Titan Marine Commission's formal public hearing on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, in the Charleston County Council Chambers in North Charleston, South Carolina. (Pool photo by Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post and Courier/via Associated Press)
About 10 months after the charges were filed, he decided to drop the case. The case was closed and both charges were dropped, according to the Associated Press.
OceanGate president Stockton Rush was one of five people killed in the explosion. The Titan has made several dives to the Titanic since 2021, according to the Associated Press.
An image taken in June 2023 of Titan's tail cone, submerged at the bottom of the ocean. (U.S. Coast Guard/Peer Survey Service)
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The U.S. Coast Guard's public hearings on the Titan submersible began Monday and are scheduled to resume Thursday in Charleston, South Carolina.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
