Poor Engineering Led to Titan Submersible Implosion, Say US Authorities

The catastrophic implosion of OceanGate’s Titan submersible during its 2023 dive to the Titanic wreck was the result of poor engineering practices and critical failures in safety testing, according to a newly released report from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The tragedy, which occurred in June 2023, claimed the lives of all five people on board — including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who was piloting the vessel. Other victims included British billionaire Hamish Harding, deep-sea explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood.

The NTSB concluded that Titan’s design and engineering process was “inadequate,” leading to a submersible that failed to meet essential strength and durability requirements. The report found that OceanGate did not properly test the vehicle, leaving the company unaware of both its structural limits and the fact that it had sustained damage that should have disqualified it from service before the fatal dive.

The Titan vanished in the North Atlantic during its descent to the Titanic site, located roughly 372 miles off the coast of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

An earlier investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard, released in August, described the incident as “preventable” and sharply criticized OceanGate’s “critically flawed” safety protocols.

Culture of Ignored Warnings

The NTSB report also exposed troubling details about the internal safety culture at OceanGate. While some employees described safety as a priority, others — including a former director of marine operations and a technician — told investigators that warnings about design flaws were routinely ignored.

One technician raised particular concern over the company’s approach of referring to paying clients as “mission specialists” rather than passengers, a possible attempt to circumvent U.S. regulations. Under U.S. law, transporting passengers in an uncertified, experimental submersible is illegal.

The technician said he directly warned CEO Stockton Rush, stating: “You can’t just change the title of a person when you’re receiving compensation.” According to the report, Rush responded dismissively, allegedly stating, “If the [U.S.] Coast Guard became a problem… he would buy himself a congressman and make it go away.”

The findings have intensified scrutiny of unregulated commercial ventures in deep-sea tourism and raised questions about accountability and oversight in extreme expedition operations.