U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger, commander of the First Coast Guard District, left, steps away from the media at the conclusion of a news conference, Thursday, June 22, 2023, at Coast Guard Base Boston in Boston. The U.S. Navy has confirmed its acoustic sensors detected “an anomaly consistent with an implosion†in the area where the doomed submersible Titan was operating when it lost contact with surface vessels on Sunday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Steven Senne
DARTMOUTH – The U.S. Coast Guard will lead the investigation into the catastrophic implosion of the Titan submersible, which broke apart and sank to the ocean floor during an expedition to the Titanic.
All five people aboard were presumed dead Thursday soon after a crew guiding a remotely operated vehicle spotted the Titan’s wreckage about 500 metres from the Titanic’s bow.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board issued a statement today saying the U.S. Coast Guard had declared the loss of the Titan a “major marine casualty” and, as a result, will lead the investigation.
Peter Knudson, a spokesman for the board, said the NTSB has joined the investigation.
As of Friday, it remained unclear what role Canadian authorities would play.
Since the beginning of the search late Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard has repeatedly referred to Titan as a Canadian vessel using a Canadian mother ship, though the company that operated the vessel is based in Washington state.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2023.
