Engineering and safety experts to be questioned by Coast Guard panel for Titan disaster hearing

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – A former crew member on a Titan dive recalled how unnerving the experience was during the Coast Guard’s public hearing into why the Titan imploded on its way to view the shipwrecked Titanic.

Karl Stanley, who runs his own expedition business where he takes passengers on dives, said that OceanGate, the company that ran the Titan, nearly killed him because they took him on a test dive in the Bahamas.

Former OceanGate administration chief Amber Bay said the company took safety concerns seriously and disputed previous claims of tolerance for willful violations.

On Wednesday, the investigative panel will hear three witnesses, including a safety and engineering expert. First up is Don Kramer, the acting chief of the National Transportation Safety Board Materials Lab, followed by William Kohnen with Hydrospace Group Inc.

Closing the day will be Bart Kemper with Kemper Engineering.

LIVE UPDATES:

6:00 p.m.

Hearing adjourned.

5:53 p.m.

Kemper Engineering recommendations:

5:35 p.m.

Kemper said he would have stopped dives after the incident on dive 80.

5:32 p.m.

Kemper said the loud bang on dive 80 which caused a strain data hike said there could have been a faulty strain gauge, but the shift theory discussed previously is unlikely.

Delamination could also cause the shift in strain data.

5:20 p.m.

Potential implosion points and illustration, according to Kemper:

3:47 p.m.

These reports are before the window was made.

3:08 p.m. – 3:12 p.m.

Timeline of Kemper and OceanGate relationship alongside overview of what presentation addresses:

3:05 p.m.

Kemper presents summary of preliminary findings regarding OceanGate and the loss of the Titan submersible.

3:03 p.m.

Bart Kemper called to the witness stand.

2:42 p.m.

Hearing adjourned until 3:00 p.m.

2:09 p.m.

Classification societies internationally:

2:08 p.m.

According to Kohnen’s presentation, the Titan was the 10th deepest diving submersible.

2:07 p.m.

All the ones that can dive that deep are classed.

2:06 p.m.

In a report by Kohnen, there are only 9 submersibles that dive to 4000 meters, he states.

2:04 p.m.

Kohnen said 42 people signed the MTS letter. The Coast Guard only has page 1 of the MTS letter. He explained that the letter was not meant to be public and was notified later that the letter had been made public.

1:55 p.m.

Kohnen said after his conversation with Stockton over the MTS letter, Stockton did make clear on the website that the submersible was experimental.

One draft of the MTS letter. This is the draft that was sent to Stockton.

1:51 p.m. – 1:54 p.m.

Letter signees represented every country in the MTS. Kohnen is chair of the MTS committee. The board allegedly reprimanded him for drafting the letter.

The board said that the letter could not be sent on behalf of MTS because the board allegedly did not know anything about submarines. The letter was outside the bylaws of the society.

One letter did get passed on to Stockton so he called Kohnen and the two had a conversation about it.

1:49 p.m.

Kohnen said OceanGate the years of experience that had been established regarding Titanic expeditions. He said the team who helped with the MTS letter wanted OceanGate to be able to do the expeditions, but they wanted them done properly.

1:47 p.m.

Kohnen drafted the Marine Technology Society concern letter to Stockton that was never sent. He said many in the industry knew what OceanGate was doing and this turned into “serious professional concern”

They were concerned about how careless OceanGate was considering the Titanic expeditions.

1:45 p.m.

Kohnen said he thinks the term “mission specialist” is a problem but the Coast Guard rules make things to convoluted.

1:44 p.m.

Kohnen said he would never build a submersible with a carbon-fiber hull because “its too much money.”

1:43 p.m.

Hearing is back in session. The window that was used on the Titan when the implosion occurred was made by Heinz Fritz GmbH and delivered to OceanGate in 2020.

12:36 p.m.

Hearing adjourned until 1:40 p.m.

12:33 p.m.

OceanGate had a second window made by a different company for the Titan after the first one was damaged.

The second window was made by Heinz Fritz GmbH.

Hydrospace currently has 16 subs.

12:25 p.m.

The first window made by Hydrospace in 2018 was damaged in 2019, according to Kohnen

12:21 p.m.

The acrylic window is typically tested in 1,000 to-depth cycles. Kemper Engineering tested the first window made by Hydrospace.

12:19 p.m.

Hydrospace made a non-standard acrylic window which they gave to OceanGate and an inspection report, according to Kohnen. Although the window was not PVHO-certified, they used PVHO-certified material to build it.

12:14 p.m.

Kohnen reached out to Rush in an attempt to offer window testing analysis and giving an overview report.

12:12 p.m.

Kohnen said he made it clear to Rush that OceanGate needed to test the window, but they did not perform the testing with Hydrospace. The window was not rated for extreme depths.

12:10 p.m.

Hydrospace first had contact with OceanGate in 2007 or 2008 because the company had a submersible for use that OceanGate was interested in, according to Kohnen.

12:09 p.m.

Kohnen mostly communicated with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and former Engineering Director Tony Nissen.

12:00 p.m.

Hydrospace made the window for the Titan submersible.

11:33 a.m.

All of Hydrospace’s submersibles are classified.

11:28 a.m.

Kohnen said pilots and crew had to go through extensive training for first HydroSpace submersible dive.

11:23 a.m.

Hydrospace built its first submersible in 1995.

11:03 a.m.

Kohnen details his professional background. Kohnen is the co-founder of Hydrospace Inc, executive director of the World Submarine Organization and member of special review committee for American Bureau of Shipping.

11:02 a.m.

William Kohnen called to the witness stand.

10:10 a.m.

Dr. Kramer explains rubbing damage found on Titan debris

10:09 a.m.

The cut off ends of the hull and the trimmed ends of the hull from version 1 and version 2 of the Titan were maintained at the OceanGate Everett facility.

9:56 a.m.

All the findings so far from Dr. Kramer’s Materials lab are based off of after the Titan wreckage was discovered. Dr. Kramer said he does not know whether the issues in his finding are from before or after the implosion.

9:46 a.m.

Version 1 Titan hull and Version 2 Titan hull compared to one another:

9:29 a.m.

Summary of Dr. Kramer’s NTSB Materials lab investigation into the Titan submersible

9:25 a.m.

Dr. Kramer goes over Titan wreckage:

9:20 a.m.

What happened on Titan’s dive 80 when the loud bang occurred, according to Dr. Kramer’s NTSB materials investigation Part 2:

9:11 a.m.

What happened on Titan’s dive 80 when the loud bang occurred, according to Dr. Kramer’s NTSB materials investigation Part 1:

9:09 a.m.

RTM-Strain monitoring system:

9:08 a.m.

How the Titan’s Real-time Monitoring Acoustic Emission System worked and issues:

8:53 a.m. – 9:11 a.m.

Dr. Kramer explains presentation on what went wrong with Titan and the Materials Investigation of the Experimental Titan Submersible Part 1:

8:49 a.m.

Dr. Kramer explains his educational and professional background including current professional duties:

8:48 a.m.

Dr. Don Kramer called to the witness stand.

8:45 a.m.

Hearing begins.

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