Marine transportation

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Deployment
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Marine transportation safety investigation report

Safety communications related to TSB investigation M23A0169: June 2023 implosion of the Titan submersible and loss of life

The occurrence

On June 18, 2023, the Titan submersible, owned by U.S. based company OceanGate, imploded while descending to the wreck of the Titanic with five people on boardAt the time of the occurrence, the operation was supported by a Canadian cargo vessel, the Polar Prince, operated by Canadian company Horizon Maritime Services Ltd., which towed the Titan from St John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, to dive locations, as well as providing a base for OceanGate’s operations.

Findings from TSB investigation M23A0169: Implosion of the Titan submersible and loss of life

Investigations conducted by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) are complex since an accident rarely results from a single cause. In the case of the 2023 implosion of the Titan submersible which resulted in the death of five people on board, several factors led to the accident. The five findings below detail the causes and contributing factors that led to this occurrence.

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Figure 4. The Polar Prince (Source: TSB)

Titan submersible operated without oversight