New details have surfaced in the Titan submersible tragedy.
Two years after the OceanGate Expedition vessel imploded with five passengers onboard, including its CEO Stockton Rush, the United States Coast Guard found the deep-sea exploration company was to blame for the "preventable tragedy," according to the report of investigation obtained by E! News.
"The board determined the primary contributing factors were OceanGate's inadequate design, certification, maintenance and inspection process for the Titan," an Aug. 5 USCG press release announcing the report said. "Other factors cited in the report include a toxic workplace culture at OceanGate [and] an inadequate domestic and international regulatory framework for submersible operations and vessels of novel design."
An in-depth examination from the U.S. Coast Guard's Marine Board of Investigation published Aug. 4 found that "OceanGate's failure to follow established engineering protocols for safety, testing, and maintenance of their submersible was the primary causal factor."
The 327-page report noted that "the loss of structural integrity of the Titan's carbon fiber hull," which was glued to titanium end sections, caused the implosion on June 18, 2023, just 90 minutes into its expedition to the Titanic wreckage. In addition to Rush, passengers Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood were killed in the incident.
The agency alleged that OceanGate's design and testing for the Titan "did not adequately address many of the fundamental engineering principles that would be crucial for constructing a hull" that was expected to reach the Titanic shipwreck at 12,500 feet.
The report also accused the company of continuing to use the submersible after a series of dives in 2022 that "compromised the integrity of the hull and other critical components of the submersible without properly assessing or inspecting the hull."
As for the structure itself, the Coast Guard noted that the design of the vessel's carbon fiber hull introduced "flaws that weakened the overall structural integrity" due to "winding, curing, gluing, and the thickness" of its material.
Along with failing to conduct detailed investigations into the vessel after "mishaps that negatively impacted its hull and components during dives," the company was accused of firing and dissuading employees who expressed safety concerns.
Other contributing causal factors, according to the Coast Guard's findings, included Stockton's "sustained efforts to misrepresent Titan," which provided a "false sense of safety to passengers and regulators," as well as the company's "disregard for proper storage, operational shortcuts, and failure to conduct rigorous safety assessments."
The report accused OceanGate—which charged each passenger $250,000 for the voyage—of prioritizing "operational goals and financial considerations over safety, ignoring warnings from both industry experts and internal staff."
"Had OceanGate taken the warnings more seriously, involved independent safety experts, or adhered to more rigorous testing and safety protocols," the report noted, "many of the risks that contributed to the eventual implosion could have been mitigated or avoided entirely."
E! News has reached out to OceanGate for comment and has not yet heard back.
For a closer look at the Titan's final passengers, keep reading.
Shahzada Dawood & Son Suleman Dawood
On June 18, 2023, a deep-sea submersible Titan, operated by the U.S.-based company OceanGate Expeditions and carrying five people on a voyage to the wreck of the Titanic, was declared missing. Following a five-day search, the U.S. Coast Guard announced at a June 22 press conference that the vessel suffered a "catastrophic implosion" that killed all five passengers on board.
Pakistani-born businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood, both British citizens, were also among the victims.
Their family is one of the wealthiest in Pakistan, with Shahzada Dawood serving as the vice chairman of Engro Corporation, per The New York Times. His son was studying at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.
Shahzada's sister Azmeh Dawood told NBC News that Suleman had expressed reluctance about going on the voyage, informing a relative that he "wasn't very up for it" and felt "terrified" about the trip to explore the wreckage of the Titanic, but ultimately went to please his father, a Titanic fan, for Father's Day.
The Dawood Foundation mourned their deaths in a statement to the website, saying, "It is with profound grief that we announce the passing of Shahzada and Suleman Dawood. Our beloved sons were aboard OceanGagte's Titan submersible that perished underwater. Please continue to keep the departed souls and our family in your prayers during this difficult period of mourning."
Stockton Rush
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush was the pilot of the Titan. The entrepreneur—who founded the research company in 2009 in Everett, Wash.—had long been interested in exploration. Rush, 61, previously said he dreamed of becoming the first person on Mars and once said that he'd "like to be remembered as an innovator."
In addition to leading voyages to see the remnants of the Titanic, Rush had another surprising connection to the historic 1912 event: His wife Wendy Rush is the great-great-granddaughter of a couple who died on the Titanic, Ida and Isidor Straus.
Hamish Harding
British billionaire Hamish Harding confirmed he was a part of the mission in a June 17 Instagram post, a day before the submersible went into the water and disappeared.
"I am proud to finally announce that I joined @oceangateexped for their RMS TITANIC Mission as a mission specialist on the sub going down to the Titanic," he wrote. "Due to the worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023. A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow."
Harding—the chairman of aircraft company Action Aviation—said the group had started steaming from St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada and was planning to start dive operations around 4 a.m. on June 18. The 58-year-old added, "Until then we have a lot of preparations and briefings to do."
His past explorations included traveling to the deepest part of the ocean in the Mariana Trench, telling Gulf News in 2021, "It was an incredibly hostile environment. To travel to parts of the Challenger Deep where no human had ever been before was truly remarkable."
The Dubai-based businessman also circumnavigated the Earth by plane with the One More Orbit project and, last year, took a trip to space on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin New Shepard rocket. Harding shared his love for adventure with his son Giles, described as a "teen explorer" on his Instagram.
Paul-Henri Nargeolet
As for the fifth member, a representative for French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet told the New York Times that he was a passenger on the Titan, with Harding also referencing him on Instagram as a member of the team.
The Times described him as a maritime expert who was previously part of the French Navy. The 71-year-old was a bonafide Titanic specialist and has traveled to the wreckage 35 times before. Nargeolet served as the director of RMS Titanic, Inc., a company that researches, salvages and displays artifacts from the famed ship, per the outlet.
Alongside fellow passenger Hamish Harding, he was a member of The Explorers Club, founded in 1904.
The Titan
As Harding noted in his post, the submersible—named Titan—was a part of an OceanGate Expeditions tour that explores the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, which infamously sank in 1912.
The company expressed its sympathies to the families of the victims. "These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world's oceans," OceanGate said in a statement. "Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew."