A ‘toxic workplace culture’ was one of several contributing factors that led to the implosion of the Titan submersible on its way to the Titanic, a report has said.

The US Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) said in its Report of Investigation (ROI) that “the loss of five lives was preventable”.

The 335-page report made 17 safety recommendations with the hope of “closing gaps in international maritime policy”.

Among the factors that led to the loss of the vessel in June 2023 were inadequate design, certification, maintenance and inspection of the sub, the fact that the company failed to look into known past problems with the hull, and that issues with the expedition were not monitored in real time and acted upon.

Other contributing factors included OceanGate’s safety culture and operational practices being critically flawed, the board found.

Image:
The Titan seen on the ocean floor

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Titan went missing on its voyage to the wreck of the Titanic.

After five frantic days of searching, the wreckage was eventually found on the ocean floor roughly 500m from the sunken Titanic.

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The implosion killed all five people on board – Titan operator Stockton Rush, who founded OceanGate, the company that owned the submersible; two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman; British adventurer Hamish Harding; and Titanic expert and the sub’s pilot, Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

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