Titan submersible: US Coast Guard says presumed human remains found in wreckage

The US Coast Guard says it has likely recovered human remains from the wreckage of the Titan submersible and is bringing the evidence back to the United States. The submersible imploded last week, killing all five people on board. The vessel was on a voyage to see the wreck of the Titanic.

Debris from the Titan submersible was returned to land on Wednesday (June 28). The return of the debris to port in St. Johns, Newfoundland, is a key piece of the investigation into why the submersible imploded.

In a statement late on Wednesday (June 28), the Coast Guard said it had recovered debris and evidence from the sea floor and that included what it described as presumed human remains.

Debris from the Titan submersible that imploded while on a voyage to the century-old wreck of the Titanic earlier this month, was brought back to shore by a Canadian-flagged ship https://t.co/onsAWfrrWo pic.twitter.com/vvZ46OLMJ9

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 29, 2023

Coast Guard statement

“I am grateful for the coordinated international and inter-agency support to recover and preserve this vital evidence at extreme offshore distances and depths,” US Coast Guard Chief Capt. Jason Neubauer said in a statement. “The evidence will provide investigators from several international jurisdictions with critical insights into the cause of this tragedy. There is still a substantial amount of work to be done to understand the factors that led to the catastrophic loss of the Titan and help ensure a similar tragedy does not occur again.”

Twisted chunks of the 22-foot submersible were unloaded at a Canadian Coast Guard pier on Wednesday (June 28).

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The Canadian ship Horizon Arctic carried a remotely-operated vehicle, or ROV, to search the ocean floor near the Titanic wreck for pieces of the submersible. Pelagic Research Services, a company with offices in Massachusetts and New York that owns the ROV, said on Wednesday (June 28) that it had completed offshore operations.

“The Pelagic Research Services team is still on mission and cannot comment on the ongoing Titan investigation, which involves several government agencies in the US and Canada,” said Jeff Mahoney, a spokesperson for the company.

“They have been working around the clock now for ten days, through the physical and mental challenges of this operation, and are anxious to finish the mission and return to their loved ones,” Mahoney said.

US Coast Guard leading the investigation into the implosion

Debris from the Titan was located about 3,810 metres underwater and roughly 488 metres from the Titanic on the ocean floor, the Coast Guard said last week. The Coast Guard is leading the investigation into why the submersible imploded during its June 18 descent. Officials announced on June 22 that the submersible had imploded and all five people on board were dead.

The Coast Guard has convened a Marine Board of Investigation into the implosion. That is the highest level of investigation conducted by the Coast Guard.

One of the experts the Coast Guard consulted with during the search said analysing the physical material of recovered debris could reveal important clues about what happened to the Titan.

Also read: Titanic and Titan sank over a century apart, but the tragedies share shocking similarities

“And there could be electronic data,” said Carl Hartsfield of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

“Certainly, all the instruments on any deep sea vehicle, they record data. They pass up data. So the question is, is there any data available? And I really don’t know the answer to that question,” he said on Monday (June 26).

Representatives for Horizon Arctic did not respond to requests for comment.

Coast Guard representatives declined to comment on the investigation or the return of debris to shore on Wednesday (June 28).

No bodies recovered so far

No bodies have been recovered, though Coast Guard officials said days earlier that they were taking precautions in case they encountered human remains during the investigation.

OceanGate CEO and pilot Stockton Rush was killed in the implosion along with two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood; British adventurer Hamish Harding; and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

Representatives for the National Transportation Safety Board and Transportation Safety Board of Canada, which are both involved in the investigation, also declined to comment. The National Transportation Safety Board has said the Coast Guard had declared the loss of the Titan submersible to be a major marine casualty and the Coast Guard would lead the investigation.

“We are not able to provide any additional information at this time as the investigation is ongoing,” said Liam MacDonald, a spokesperson for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

Stronger regulations for submersibles likely in the future

A spokesperson for the International Maritime Organisation, the UN’s maritime agency, has said any investigative reports from the disaster would be submitted for review. Member states of the IMO can also propose changes such as stronger regulations of submersibles.

Currently, the IMO has voluntary safety guidelines for tourist submersibles which include requirements that they be inspected, have emergency response plans, and have a certified pilot on board among other requirements. Any safety proposals would not likely be considered by the IMO until its next Maritime Safety Committee which begins in May 2024.

Also read: Titanic Submarine: Why does a submarine implode and what follows? | The Federal

OceanGate Expeditions, the company that owned and operated the Titan, is based in the U.S. but the submersible was registered in the Bahamas. The OceanGate company in Everett, Washington closed when the Titan was found. Meanwhile, the Titan’s mother ship, the Polar Prince, was from Canada.

The operator charged passengers USD 250,000 each to participate in the voyage. The implosion of the Titan has raised questions about the safety of private undersea exploration operations. The Coast Guard also wants to use the investigation to improve the safety of submersibles.

(With agency inputs)