The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has concluded its investigation into the OceanGate Titan submersible disaster. In a summary report released on October 15, the agency stated that an already weakened hull caused the vessel to implode during its June 2023 journey to the RMS Titanic wreck, killing all five passengers aboard.

Figure 1. OceanGate’s ‘Titan’ Completed 7 Voyages with a Weakened Hull Before Its Fatal Implosion.

Investigators found that the submersible was not damaged immediately before its final dive. Instead, initial fractures, called delaminations, had formed in its carbon fiber composite hull during an earlier dive in July 2022—eight missions prior. Figure 1 shows OceanGate’s ‘Titan’ Completed 7 Voyages with a Weakened Hull Before Its Fatal Implosion.

The NTSB report stated that the Titan’s pressure vessel likely sustained damage after surfacing from dive 80 in the form of one or more delaminations, which weakened the hull. Additional damage “of unknown origin” further compromised the submersible after dive 82.

“The existing delaminations, combined with subsequent damage between dive 82 and the final dive (dive 88), caused a local buckling failure that led to the Titan’s implosion,” the summary reads.

Investigators also described the vessel’s engineering process as “inadequate,” resulting in multiple structural anomalies that failed to meet the strength and durability required for repeated dives to depths exceeding 10,700 feet. The NTSB added that OceanGate’s analysis of real-time monitoring data was flawed, leaving the company unaware that Titan had been damaged and should have been immediately retired after dive 80.

On June 18, 2023, OceanGate lost contact with the submersible about 105 minutes into its roughly 2.5-mile journey to the Titanic wreck. The subsequent international search covered more than 10,000 square miles of the Atlantic. After four days, dive teams recovered the first debris, confirming the deaths of all five passengers, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.

In September 2024, the U.S. Coast Guard released a map showing Titan’s 322,917-square-foot debris field about 1,600 feet from the Titanic’s bow. At its last known depth of 11,033 feet, the ocean exerts 5,500 pounds per square inch of pressure—enough to cause the submersible to implode in less than 20 milliseconds, faster than the human brain could process.

Source: POPULAR SCIENCE

Cite this article:

Priyadharshini S (2025), OceanGate’s ‘Titan’ Made 7 Dives with a Compromised Hull Before Imploding, AnaTechMaz, pp.235