Titan implosion: Coast Guard releases final report; says it was preventable

The U.S. Coast Guard released its final report on the deadly implosion of the Titan submersible that killed five people in 2023.

The Coast Guard said in the report that the implosion was “preventable” and called for stronger regulation of private deep-sea expeditions, The Associated Press reported.

The examination will, according to Jason Neubauer of the Marine Board of Investigation, prevent future tragedies.

“There is a need for stronger oversight and clear options for operators who are exploring new concepts outside of the existing regulatory framework,” Neubauer said in a statement.

The investigation determined there were problems with OceanGate’s design, certification, maintenance and inspection. The company also had a “toxic workplace culture,” according to the findings.

The primary cause of the failure, according to the Coast Guard, was not following established engineering protocols for safety, testing and maintenance of the Titan, the BBC reported.

The implosion was caused by loss of “structural integrity” with the five people on board exposed to about 4,930 pounds per square inch of water pressure. The people on board died instantaneously, the report stated.

The company also did not follow up on issues that had developed before the fateful trip with the watercraft’s carbon fiber construction, the BBC reported.

The company also faced financial difficulties that hindered its operations, going so far as to ask employees to temporarily not be paid, the BBC reported.

The company was economically very stressed and as a result, [they] were making decisions that compromised safety," one employee told investigators.

The investigation said that OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush was to blame because he “exhibited negligence that contributed to the deaths of four individuals." Rush was among those killed in the incident. If he had lived, the Coast Guard said it would have considered a criminal investigation against him, the BBC reported.

©2025 Cox Media Group