Debris from the Titan submersible, recovered from the ocean floor near the wreck of the Titanic, is unloaded from the ship Horizon Arctic at the Canadian Coast Guard pier in St. John’s on Wednesday, June 28, 2023. The Transportation Safety Board says other unregistered submersibles have been operating within Canadian waters since the Titan made its doomed descent to view the Titanic wreck in June 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Daly
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – The Transportation Safety Board says other unregistered submersibles have been operating within Canadian waters since the Titan made its doomed descent to view the Titanic wreck one year ago.
The independent agency made the comments in a safety letter issued last week to Transport Canada, saying it’s unclear whether the vessels have been subject to proper oversight.
The letter to Transport Canada is part of an update the safety board released today on its investigation into the June 18, 2023, dive by the Titan submersible in the waters southeast of Newfoundland that killed all five people on board.
Titan was not registered or certified in Canada or elsewhere to ensure that it met safety standards, and marine engineers had warned that the “experimental” approach taken by the vessel’s owner – OceanGate – could have catastrophic consequences.
The safety board says that before and after June 2023, a number of submersibles with people on board have operated in Canadian waters and that some are registered in Canada or another country and some are not.
The board says it issued the June 13 letter to Transport Canada “for whatever followup action is deemed appropriate,” adding it would like to be advised about how the federal government responds to the issue.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2024.
