Remaining Debris, Including ‘Presumed Human Remains,’ Recovered From Titan Submersible

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, Newfoundland, on June 28, 2023. (Paul Daly/The Canadian Press via AP)

The U.S. Coast Guard has recovered remaining debris—including presumed human remains—from the Titan submersible that imploded while attempting to visit the wreck of the Titanic in June.

In an update on the recovery efforts, issued on Oct. 10, officials said marine safety engineers with the Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) recovered and transferred remaining debris and evidence from the 22-foot vessel from the North Atlantic Ocean seafloor one week earlier.

“The 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,” officials said. “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.”

According to the Coast Guard, the recovered evidence was successfully transferred to a U.S. port for cataloging and analysis.

“Additional presumed human remains were carefully recovered from within Titan’s debris and transported for analysis by U.S. medical professionals,” the statement said.

The MBI is coordinating with the NTSB and other international investigative agencies to schedule a joint evidence review of the recovered Titan submersible debris, officials said, noting that the review session will help officials determine the next steps for necessary forensic testing.

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“The MBI will continue evidence analysis and witness interviews ahead of a public hearing regarding this tragedy,” the statement concluded.

Undated handout image of Submersible Titan. On June 18, 2023, the submersible vanished on an expedition to the Titanic wreckage. It suffered a catastrophic implosion, killing all onboard. (OceanGate/Zuma Press Wire/TNS)

Scrutiny Over Safety Standards

Titan, a tourist submersible operated by OceanGate Expeditions, was first reported missing on June 18 after it failed to return to the Polar Prince, the Canadian research ship from which it was launched. Officials said the sub lost contact with its support ship on the surface roughly two hours after it began its descent.

Five people were on board: billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French diver and Titanic expert.

The search for the Titan vessel went on for several days, and officials initially hoped all five of those on board survived despite a limited oxygen supply.

However, the Coast Guard ultimately announced that a debris field containing external parts of the submersible had been discovered in an area near the wreck of the Titanic. According to officials, the vessel had likely imploded about 13,000 feet below the surface of the ocean, killing all on board.

Oceangate came under intense scrutiny following the incident after reports emerged that the company’s submersible hadn’t met industry design and safety standards and that multiple experts, including engineers, had warned of potential “catastrophic” consequences from the firm’s “experimental” approach to the vessel.

Before his death on board the submersible, Mr. Rush himself told CBS in a 2022 interview that expeditions onboard vessels such as the carbon-fiber-made Titan were generally safe, but he acknowledged the risks.

“You know, at some point, safety is just pure waste. I mean, if you just want to be safe, don’t get out of bed, don’t get in your car, don’t do anything. At some point, you’re going to take some risk, and it really is a risk-reward question,” Mr. Rush said.

Oceangate has since suspended all exploration and commercial operations.