USCG recovers more human remains from Titan submersible wreck site

Coast Guard marine safety engineers assigned to the Marine Safety Center in Washington D.C., working for the Marine Board of Investigation for the Titan submersible case, conduct a survey of the aft titanium endcap from Titan in the North Atlantic Ocean. The endcap was recently recovered from the seafloor and successfully transferred to a U.S. port for analysis. [Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board]

Marine safety engineers with the Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) recovered and transferred remaining Titan submersible debris and evidence from the North Atlantic Ocean seafloor, October 4. Additional presumed human remains were among the evidence recovered. They have been transported for analysis by U.S. medical professionals.

Previously, presumed human remains had been among evidence received by the Coast Guard on June 28.

Investigations thus far indicate that the Titan submersible suffered a catastrophic implosion Sunday, June 18, about 1 hour and 45 minutes after it started its attempted dive to the wreck of the Titanic with five people on board, including Stockton Rush, CEO of its operator, OceanGate Expeditions. The others were Hamish Harding, the chairman of Action Aviation, a sales and air operations company based in Dubai; Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a veteran French diver who was director of underwater research for RMS Titanic, Inc., an American company that owns the salvage rights to the wreck; and British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son, Suleman, 19.

This latest salvage mission, which was conducted under an existing agreement with U.S. Navy Supervisor of Salvage & Diving, was a follow-up to initial recovery operations following the loss of the Titan submersible. Investigators from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada joined the salvage expedition as part of their respective safety investigations.

The Marine Board of Investigation is coordinating with NTSB and other international investigative agencies to schedule a joint evidence review of recovered Titan debris. This review session will help determine the next steps for necessary forensic testing.

The MBI will continue evidence analysis and witness interviews ahead of a public hearing on tragedy.

Additional updates will be available on the Titan Submersible Marine Board of Investigation webpage.