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Public hearing phase of Coast Guard Titan probe begins Monday in N. Charleston
The Coast Guard holds briefing ahead of public hearings on Titan submersible Sunday morning.
By Patrick Phillips and Caroline Spikes
Published: Sep. 15, 2024 at 10:00 AM GMT+1|Updated: 1 hour ago
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC/AP) – The U.S. Coast Guard will begin hearing public testimony Monday in North Charleston on the submersible Titan disaster that killed five people last year.
Titan was on an expedition to explore the wreck of the Titanic when contact was lost 1 hour and 47 minutes into its dive on Sunday, June 18, 2023.
OceanGate, the Washington state company that owned the Titan submersible, suspended operations after the implosion that killed company co-founder Stockton Rush, veteran Titanic explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet; two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood; and British adventurer Hamish Harding.
“This tragedy has deeply affected not only the families and friends of those lost, but also the global maritime community and everyone involved in this investigation,” Jason Neubauer, the deputy chief of the Coast Guard’s Office of Investigations and Analysis and chair of the Marine Board Investigation into Titan, said during a briefing Sunday morning.
Neubauer said the hearings will allow the Coast Guard to present its findings and hear directly from key witnesses and subject matter experts in a transparent form.
“These proceedings are not just a formality. They are a critical step in our mission to understand the contributing factors that led to the incident and even more importantly, the actions needed to prevent a similar occurrence,” he said. “The board is absolutely committed to identifying those safety gaps and recommending improvements so that no family will have to endorse such a loss again.”
The Titan’s loss sparked a worldwide debate about the future of private undersea exploration.
U.S. Coast Guard Vice Adm. Peter W. Gautier, deputy commandant for operations, quickly convened the Marine Board Investigation, the highest level of investigation in the Coast Guard.
The time frame for the investigation into the loss of the submersible was initially a year, but the inquiry has taken longer.
Neubauer said the purpose of the hearing is to uncover the facts.
“We are charged to also detect misconduct or negligence by credentialed mariners, and if there’s any detection of a criminal act, we would make a recommendation to the Department of Justice, but the main focus of the hearing is to find the facts and make recommendations to make sure it does not happen again,” he said.
The Charleston area, he said, is a neutral location and a city “closely connected” to the Coast Guard. He said witnesses are coming from around the world to take part in the hearings, which could last for two weeks.
Neubauer called it “one of the most complex investigations” he has ever been involved with. He cited the “offshore nature of the incident,” the depth at which the submersible’s implosion happened; recovering and maintaining the evidence for forensic testing and coordinating the investigation among “the multiple, multiple jurisdictions that have jurisdiction over the investigation itself.”
The Coast Guard said in a July 2024 statement that the public hearing will “examine all aspects of the loss of the Titan, including pre-accident historical events, regulatory compliance, crewmember duties and qualifications, mechanical and structural systems, emergency response and the submersible industry.”
The Coast Guard, along with other agencies, international partners and private entities, conducted an extensive search and found the wreckage on the ocean floor, approximately 300 meters off the bow of the Titanic. All five passengers were declared dead.
The U.S. Coast Guard says the Marine Board of Investigation will consider evidence related to the loss of the Titan submersible in North Charleston.
Upon completion of the investigation, the Board will issue a report to the commandant with the evidence collected, the facts established, its conclusions and recommendations.
The Titan had been making voyages to the Titanic wreckage site going back to 2021. The company has declined to comment publicly on the Coast Guard’s investigation.
Copyright 2024 WCSC. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved
HORRY COUNTY, SC (WPDE) — Police in Horry County issued a “noise notice” Sunday morning, as multiple agencies prepared to dispose of an explosive device.
A social media post stated the Horry County Police Department’s (HCPD) Bomb Squad, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), and personnel from the Shaw Air Force Base were preparing to safely dispose of the device just after 7 a.m.
It stated community members near HWY 90 and International Drive may hear a “significant noise.”
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NEW:Special Olympics in Myrtle Beach: Over 900 athletes competeHCPD’s Director of Public Information, Mikayla Moskov, said the disposal happened within that hour.
In a separate social media post, the Myrtle Beach Police Department said officers responded to a homeowner’s call on Rock Dove Rd. Saturday night, sharing concerns of an old military item he purchased at a “doorstop” garage sale.omment bubble
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The post thanked Horry County Police and other military partners for assisting, sharing outside agencies “responded and proper destruction of the device was made