Final moments before Titan implosion revealed during Coast Guard hearing

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Monday morning public hearings meant to piece together why a submersible set to explore the Titanic wreckage imploded and whether criminal charges are necessary have begun.

The Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) will examine everything related to the loss of the Titan submersible, hearing from former employees of the company that created the vessel, OceanGate Expeditions, and providing a detailed report of what happened following the conclusion of the two-week hearing.

In addition, “We are charged to also detect misconduct or negligence by credentialed mariners, and if there’s any detection of a criminal act, then we will present our findings to the DOJ,” U.S. Coast Guard Chief of Office of Investigations, Jason Neubauer said.

Coast Guard documents say the Titan left to explore the Titanic wreckage on June 18, 2023. An hour and 45 minutes into its dive, the vessel lost contact with its support, POLAR PRINCE.

On June 22, pieces of the Titan were found about 500 meters from the bow of the Titanic. Coast Guard officials quickly confirmed the vessel had likely imploded and declared all five passengers dead.

The passengers included pilot Stockton Rush, who was the CEO of OceanGate. Others who perished were Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, members of a notable Pakistani family. British explorer Hamish Harding and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet were also killed.

Officials announced the hearing will begin with a general overview of the incident and a reanimation of the Titan’s voyage. Following the animation, the panel will hear testimony from former OceanGate Engineering Director Tony Nissen.

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8:30 a.m.

An OceanGate council will have the ability to cross examine witnesses, according to Neubauer. All witnesses are under oath and can face financial penalties.

8:36 a.m.

Marcela Muse with the National Transportation Safety Board provides opening statement. OceanGate representatives offer condolences on behalf of the company for loved ones loss in the Titan tragedy.

8:39 a.m.

Parties observe a moment of silence for those lost in the tragedy.

8:43 a.m.

Principal components of the manned submersible Titan:

8:44 a.m.

OceanGate was founded in 2009 by Stockton Rush, Guillermo Sohnlein and Sarah Schwitters.

In 2009, the company applied for a Coast Guard certification which is was unable to obtain due to sub-T regulations. The company did obtain an oceanic research research vessel designation and conducted dives.

8:48 a.m.

8:50 a.m.

TITAN PROTOTYPE HISTORY:

8:55 a.m.

Final hull before implosion:

8:59 a.m.

Launch and Recovery and expedition map:

9:00 a.m. – 9:04 a.m.

Titan expeditions to Titanic wreckage and incidents that occurred before implosion:

9:05 a.m.

2023 Titan expeditions before mission 5 implosion:

9:19 a.m.

Animation of Titan’s mission 5 trek and subsequent disaster by Gary T Mark USCG Auxiliary. The animation was dedicated to the memory of the five Titan passengers who perished.

9:30 a.m.

10-minute recess called before hearing from first witness, Mr. Tony Nissen, former OceanGate Engineering Director.

9:40 a.m.

Nissen swears to give truthful testimony.

9:42 a.m.

Nissen expresses condolences to those who perished and says certain instances in investigation are ‘disturbing,’ then details professional background.

9:51 a.m.

Nissen says he was initially hired as engineering director in March 2016. He was pitched to take Cyclops 2, or Titan, “over the finish line.”

9:53 a.m.

Nissen says he “had no idea” that the Titan was going to explore the Titanic wreckage when he was first hired and realized a few weeks later that was the goal.

9:57 a.m.

Nissen explains when he began, there was no one in the OceanGate engineering department. He approximates that ten people worked at OceanGate when he first started including Stockton Rush.

10:05 a.m.

Serial number one and serial number two are completely different, according to Nissen. Also, the Coast Guard’s presentation was missing a culture, he said.

10:12 a.m.

10:16 a.m. – 10:19 a.m.

Stockton made the majority of engineering decisions, according to Nissen. “Stockton would fight for what he wanted and wouldn’t give an inch much at all.”

10:38 a.m.

Nissen says he does not know if OceanGate notified the Coast Guard about building the Titan. He said that was Stockton’s job and pertained to the business side of the company.

10:55 a.m. – 10:58 a.m.

Testifies that during the Bahamas test missions in 2018, the Titan got hit by lightning and believes this compromised the hull, however that is very difficult to detect.

Following this, Nissen said the team took the vessel apart. He said he told Stockton that the hull was likely compromised but Stockton responded that the “it would be okay.” As a result, the team did not work on the hull.

11:06 a.m.

10-minute recess called.

11:16 a.m.

Hearing called back in session and new document introduced into to evidence by Neubauer.

11:18 a.m.

Nissen explains new piece of evidence below.

11:32 a.m. -11:37 a.m.

Nissen testifies that there was a confirmed crack in the hull following the 2018 Bahamas expedition. He went on to say that the hull could not be used and was not working like they thought.

He said he got fired in June 2019 because he would not sign off on the July 2019 expedition to the Titanic wreckage. Nissen also said he explained to Stockton that the hull could not be used and was unaware if Stockton notified others.

11:40 a.m.

Nissen speaks about lying previously to the Coast Guard.

12:14 p.m.

Nissen testifies that the hull was reduced from grade 5 to grade 3 over the course of the project. He said the decision was Stockton’s and the significance of the decision would result in reduced margins.

When asked why he thought Stockton may have made the decision, Nissen said it would have cost more to have grade 5 and the materials would have needed to be shipped from overseas.

12:35 p.m.

Nissen says he does not know if there was a designated OceanGate safety operations officer while he worked there, but he did not think so.

12:44 p.m.

Neubauer asks Nissen if he felt rushed to complete the Titan submersible. Nissen said, “100%” When asked if he felt like this sense of being rushed effected his work on the engineering side, Nissen said it did not.

12:52 p.m.

1-hour lunch break.

1:55 p.m.

Hearing reconvenes with testimony from Bonnie Carl who was the former OceanGate human resources and finance director.

2:01 p.m.

Carl says most of the shareholders in OceanGate were friends and family of Stockton through her understanding.

She said most of the donations would come through the mail in check form and

Mission specialist was someone who would help out with the missions in some capacity whether they were a photographer or histographer, according to Carl.

2:05 p.m.

Mission specialists did have to go through helicopter egress training but farther than that Carl was not sure. She said money was the only qualification required for mission specialist.

2:08 p.m.

Carl said she had never seen the job description page for mission specialist.

2:10 p.m.

Although she assumed mission specialists would have to sign a waiver later down the line, Carl said she never saw a mission specialist sign a waiver.

2:14 p.m.

Individuals like reporters would be taken on OceanGate dives in Washington when they were not paying customers, Carl said.

2:18 p.m.

Carl explained all decisions in the end were made by Stockton.

2:21 p.m.

Carl discusses major concerns she had with the Titan equipment.

2:24 p.m.

She also said she saw young teens like 18-year-old wrenching on equipment which made her concerned.

2:30 p.m.

Carl left OceanGate in February 2018. She said she left because of their attitude towards safety.

2:32 p.m.

Carl regularly attended management meetings and never saw OceanGate minute agendas for management meetings.

2:45 p.m.

Carl said OceanGate never had any money coming in other than investor payments and occasional dive payments while she was employed there. If the company could not make payroll, Stockton would provided a temporary loan to the company for payroll payments, Carl testified.

Carl began working at OceanGate in March 2017.

All on-water activities Carl participated in were on Cyclops 1 not Cyclops 2, which was the submersible that imploded.

3:10 p.m.

The panel calls forward former OceanGate Contractor Tym Catterson.

3:14 p.m.

Catterson said his relationship with OceanGate started because the company was seeking intel on how to use the submersible. The working partnership began sometime around 2003 or 2004 after being called by both Stockton and Guillermo, he testified.

3:23 p.m.

The Titan had not been classified as a submersible, according to Catterson. He said he explained to Stockton that classification proves due diligence and allows the vessel to be insured.

He explained that getting a submersible classified is getting a third-party opinion akin to getting a second opinion from your doctor. Classification review is standard practice.

*Note: The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) classify submersibles.

3:34 p.m.

Catterson says the carbon fiber hulls for the Titan were “exactly the same” in 2018 and 2023.

3:39 p.m.

Catterson went out on the Titans’ three major Titanic expeditions before implosion, however he did not do every dive on the expeditions.

3:42 p.m.

Catterson explains how LARS worked for OceanGate. *Note: Catterson refers to LARS as LRT when speaking.

3:55 p.m.

Everett, where the Titan would perform dive trainings, is like a bathtub compared to the north Atlantic Ocean, according to Catterson. Basically, he said the training was slightly comparable but going out into the Atlantic was higher stakes.

4:22 p.m.

Catterson said he stayed on the POLAR PRINCE, Titan’s support vessel, searching for the submersible after it lost contact.

4:46 p.m.

Catterson says he would not have felt comfortable going on Titan to the depth of the Titanic wreckage because he does not “believe composites are the correct material for a pressure vessel that’s experiencing pressure to those depths.” He went on to say he had doubts about the vessel makeup.

4:50 p.m.

When asked, Catterson explained he did voice concerns about the vessel makeup to Stockton alongside other top OceanGate employees.

5:24 p.m.

Catterson said team members were not assigned specific roles for dives until missions came up.

5:29 p.m.

Approximately, more than six times Catterson said he held safety concerns for the Titan to Stockton, he testified. Stockton replied that he had several engineers working on the vessel and was confident in it.

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