Titan sub hearings live: OceanGate did not request Coast Guard inspection of Titan vessel, inspector testifies
The final hearing on OceanGate, CEO Stockton Rush and the doomed Titan submersible will begin Friday
Your support helps us to tell the story
My recent work focusing on Latino voters in Arizona has shown me how crucial independent journalism is in giving voice to underrepresented communities.
Your support is what allows us to tell these stories, bringing attention to the issues that are often overlooked. Without your contributions, these voices might not be heard.
Every dollar you give helps us continue to shine a light on these critical issues in the run up to the election and beyond
Eric Garcia
Washington Bureau Chief
OceanGate never requested the Coast Guard inspect the Titan submersible, according to John Winters, master marine inspector with the Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound.
Winters testified on Thursday before the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation as part of their inquiry into the doomed Titan submersible, which imploded last summer, killing all five people on board.
Winters also claimed Former OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush complained to him about Coast Guard regulations.
“He did express on multiple occasions that regulations were stifling his innovation process,” Winters testified. The inspector also said OceanGate “never attempted to circumvent any regulations,” despite Rush’s complaints.
Mark Negley, an engineer with Boeing, also testified on Thursday morning.
Negley said Boeing only worked with OceanGate during short periods. The company did a “brief” feasibility study from 2012 to 2013, he said, before doing two acoustic studies in 2016. Their last communication was in March 2020, Negley testified, when Boeing declined to respond to OceanGate’s request for a proposal.
Negley once sent Rush his safety analysis of Titan’s hull, WIRED reports, warning that there would be a “high risk of significant failure” if the contraption went to the depth of the Titanic wreckage.
Shock photo shows how Titan submersible fell apart two years before implosion
OceanGate’s Titan submarine relied on ‘idiotic’ Excel spreadsheet
Final messages revealed from the Titan sub before tragic implosion
Were warning signs ignored? Things to know about this week's testimony on the Titan sub disaster
Recap: Coast Guard inspector testifies
John Winters with the Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound testified today, revealing his interactions with OceanGate and Stockton Rush.
Former OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush complained to Winters several times about the Coast Guard’s regulatory processes, he testified.
“He did express on multiple occasions that regulations were stifling his innovation process,” Winters said of his conversations with Rush.
Despite this, OceanGate “never attempted to circumvent any regulations,” Winters added.
Winters worked to evaluate the safety of OceanGate’s Antipodes vessel. OceanGate wanted to obtain a small passenger vessel certification from the Coast Guard but did not receive it, Winters said.
He also revealed that OceanGate did not ask the Coast Guard to inspect the doomed Titan vessel that imploded last year.
Shock photo shows how Titan submersible fell apart two years before implosion
This week’s hearings revealed that, in 2021, the dome part of the doomed Titan vessel fell off after a dive.
That vessel would go on to catastrophically fail two years later, imploding underwater and killing all five people on board.
Learn more about the 2021 malfunction from The Independent:
Shock photo shows how Titan submersible fell apart before implosion
‘This was never sold as a Disney ride,’ a former passenger claimed
Final hearing schedule
The final hearing in the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation’s inquiry into the Titan submersible will begin Friday morning.
The hearing will kick off with Commander Zachary Roberston of the Coast Guard Marine Safety Center.
Then, the board will hear from Captain Jamie Frederick with the Coast Guard Sector Boston. Frederick was involved with the Titan search efforts and regularly provided updates to the media last summer.
The witness list will end with Scott Talbot, a search and rescue specialist with the Coast Guard.
The board will then hear closing statements before the final hearing day ends.
Hearing ends for the day
Thursday’s hearing ended after Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Duffett of the Coast Guard Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance testified to the board about submersible regulations.
The final scheduled hearing in the investigation will take place tomorrow.
Coast Guard member testifies on ‘mission specialists’ and paid passengers
Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Duffett of the Coast Guard Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance spoke to the issue of “mission specialists” on board the Titan and other vessels.
The issue has come up repeatedly during this hearing. Other witnesses have testified that OceanGate may have been labeling passengers as ‘mission specialists’ when they did not do specialized work on board the Titan.
“It’s clearly a dodge of trying to go around US regulations with passengers,” Karl Stanley, a close friend of CEO Stockton Rush and owner of a diving company in Honduras, testified Tuesday.
A member of the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation asked Duffett about these mission specialists: “OceanGate, on multiple occasions, took at least three people on board who paid to become OceanGate designated as ‘mission specialists’ on missions that departed from US cities...Would these ‘mission specialists’ be considered, or would this operation be considered, a small passenger vessel operation?”
Duffett told the board that regulations state that paid passengers aren’t crew members.
“If you have paid, then you don’t qualify as a member of the crew,” Duffett testified.
Second Coast Guard witness begins final testimony of the day
Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Duffett of the Coast Guard Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance has begun his testimony.
He is the final witness of the day.
Coast Guard inspector ends testimony
John Winters, a master marine inspector with the Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound, has ended his testimony.
The hearing is now on break for lunch and will resume at 1:45 p.m. EDT.
OceanGate ‘never attempted to circumvent any regulations’, Coast Guard inspector said
OceanGate “never attempted to circumvent any regulations” even as CEO Stockton Rush complained they were stifling his innovation, according to John Winters, a master marine inspector with the Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound.
“He did express on multiple occasions that regulations were stifling his innovation process,” Winters said of Rush earlier on Thursday.
OceanGate did not ask Coast Guard to inspect Titan, inspector says
OceanGate did not ask the Coast Guard to inspect the doomed Titan submersible, according to John Winters, a master marine inspector with the Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound.
Winters said he only spoke to former Oceangate CEO Stockton Rush about the sub in passing when he mentioned wanting to take a vessel to the Titanic wreckage.
Stockton Rush complained about Coast Guard regulations, safety inspector said
John Winters, a marine inspector with the Coast Guard, testified that former OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush complained about regulatory processes.
“He did express on multiple occasions that regulations were stifling his innovation process,” Winters said of his conversations with Rush.
Winters worked to evaluate the safety of OceanGate’s Antipodes vessel. OceanGate wanted to obtain a small passenger vessel certification from the Coast Guard but did not receive it, Winters testified.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments