The US Coast Guard said on Sunday it was investigating the loss of the Titan submarine Five men were taken aboard the Titanic to determine the cause of the explosion.
Captain. Jason Neubauer, chief investigator, said recovery efforts are ongoing and they have mapped the crash site. He did not give a timeline for the trial. Neubauer said the convening of the Marine Board of Investigation is the highest-level investigation conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Investigators are working closely with other national and international investigative authorities, including the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, Canada’s Transportation Safety Board, the French Maritime Accident Investigation Board and the United Kingdom Maritime Accident Investigation Branch, Neubauer added. Evidence is being collected in St. John’s Harbor, Newfoundland, in coordination with Canadian authorities.
The Coast Guard Board may recommend attorneys to pursue civil or criminal sanctions as appropriate.
The U.S. Navy said Sunday it will not use the massive salvage equipment used in the attempt to recover the submarine Titan.
The Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System was capable of lifting the intact Titan back to the surface. Debris from a submarine was found about 1,600 feet (488 meters) from the Titanic in the North Atlantic, the US Coast Guard announced Thursday.
The submarine Titan exploded On their way to tour the wreck of the Titanic, all five on board were killed. The debris was located about 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) underwater.
The Navy will only use the sea rescue system if there are enough pieces to use special equipment.
“Efforts are focused on helping to map the debris field in preparation for recovery efforts and supporting investigative activities. Efforts to mobilize equipment such as the Flyway Deep Ocean Salvage System have been halted,” a Navy official told The Associated Press.
The Navy describes the Flyway Deep Ocean Salvage System as “a portable, ship lift system designed to provide reliable deep ocean lifting capacity up to 60,000 pounds for the recovery of large, bulky and heavy objects such as aircraft or small vessels.”
The Titan weighed 20,000 pounds (9,071 kilograms).
The Navy continues to support the US Coast Guard.
On Saturday, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it had opened an investigation into the loss of the submarine and was speaking with passengers on Titan’s mothership, the Polar Prince.
Authorities from the United States and Canada have begun the process of investigating the cause of the underwater explosion and are grappling with questions of who is responsible to determine how the tragedy unfolded.
“We are conducting a safety investigation in Canada as this incident involved a Canadian-flagged vessel departing from a Canadian port and in international waters,” said Transportation Board Chair Cathy Fox. “Other agencies may choose to conduct an investigation.”
The Polar Prince left Newfoundland on June 16, with the ill-fated Titan in tow. There were 41 people on board – 17 crew and 24 others – including Titan’s five-man crew.
Fox said the Canadian Transportation Safety Board will share the information it collects with other agencies, such as the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Coast Guard, within the limits of Canadian law. Voice recordings and witness statements are protected under Canadian law, he said.
“We don’t want to duplicate efforts. We want to collaborate,” he said.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police also announced on Saturday that they will review the circumstances leading to Titan’s death and determine whether a full investigation is warranted. Officials said a full investigation would only take place if a criminal, federal or provincial law appears to have been violated.
The Coast Guard led the initial search and rescue mission, a major international effort that cost millions of dollars..
OceanGate Expeditions, the company Titan owns and operates, is based in the United States, but the submarine is registered in the Bahamas. Oceangate was located in Everett, Washington, but was closed when the Titan was discovered. Meanwhile, Titan’s mothership, Polar Prince, hailed from Canada, and those killed were from England, Pakistan, France and the United States.
Deep-sea exploration promises to be long and arduous. How the overall investigation will proceed is complicated by the fact that the world of deep-sea exploration is not well regulated.
Titan remains the centerpiece of any investigation. The Titan is not registered as a US ship or with international organizations that regulate safety. And it’s not classified by the Maritime Industry Group, which sets standards on things like hull construction.
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who was operating the Titan when it exploded, complained that the restrictions could prevent progress.
A question has been partially resolved as to when the explosion occurred. After the Titan was reported missing, sailors went back and analyzed its acoustic data and found an “anomaly” Sunday in the general vicinity of the ship operating when communications were lost, consistent with an explosion or explosion, senior U.S. Naval officer.
The Navy forwarded the information to the Coast Guard, which continued its search because the data was not considered conclusive, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive acoustic detection system.
Titan launched at 8 a.m. that day and was reported 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland that afternoon. Rescue crews rushed ships, planes and other equipment to the area.
Any remaining shred of hope that the crew would be found alive was dashed early Thursday when the Coast Guard announced that debris had been found near the Titanic.
Killed in the blast rush; two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahjada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood; British adventurer Hamish Harding; and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Narjolet.
Questions about the submarine’s safety have been raised by former company employees and former passengers.
