Since the little submersible Titan made his disastrous dive to closely observe the wreck of the Titanica year ago, other unregistered submarines dived into Canadian waters, underlines the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB).
And it is unknown whether all these submersibles have been certified for their safety, indicates the independent agency in a “maritime safety information letter” sent last week to Transport Canada.
The letter, made public Monday, is part of an update released by the TSB as part of its investigation into the tragic June 18, 2023 dive of the submersible Titan southeast of the island of Newfoundland. All five occupants of the small submersible lost their lives when the submarine imploded in the depths of the Atlantic.
The TSB investigation revealed that before and after this June 2023 tragedy, other submersibles with people on board plunged into Canadian waters and that some are registered in Canada or in another country, so that others are not.
“However, the investigation did not make it possible to confirm whether these submersibles were subject to surveillance by [Transports Canada] or by other certification bodies,” underlines the TSB in its letter dated last Thursday.
The TSB says it sent the letter to Transport Canada “to advise it of the risk posed by submersibles operating in Canadian waters” and “so that follow-up measures deemed appropriate can be adopted.” The independent agency adds that it would like to be informed of the measures taken in this regard by the federal government.
At Transport Canada on Monday, a spokesperson was not immediately available to comment on the letter.
The TSB states on its website that safety information letters are sent to regulators or industry “to inform them of potentially unsafe conditions or actions discovered during the investigation that pose low risks and do not do not require immediate action.
The Titan was not certified
The little submersible Titan was not registered or certified in Canada or any other country to ensure it met safety standards, and marine engineers had warned that the “experimental” approach taken by the submarine’s owner – OceanGate – could have tragic consequences.
The freighter Polar Princeflying the Canadian flag, had towed the Titan to its dive site, approximately 600 km off Cape Race on the island of Newfoundland. Approximately one hour and 45 minutes after the start of its descent, the crew of the Polar Prince lost contact with the submersible.
The TSB emphasizes that during its previous expeditions, in 2021 and 2022, the Titan had not been towed to the dive site but rather transported on the deck of another Canadian ship, theHorizon Arctic.
On June 22, 2023, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that a catastrophic implosion had destroyed the Titan and that she had found pieces of the submersible on the ocean floor, near the wreck of the Titanic.
All five occupants of the small submarine died in the accident: the submersible’s pilot, Stockton Rush, president and CEO of OceanGate Expeditions; British billionaire Hamish Harding; the French explorer and expert in Titanic Paul-Henry Nargeolet; Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman.
US Coast Guard experts said the extent of the debris field indicated that the Titan had disintegrated above the Titanicwhich sank on April 15, 1912 after hitting an iceberg.
In 2018, a group of engineers and industry professionals wrote to the owners of the Titan to express concern that the submarine had not been certified. In a 2019 blog, the company OceanGate explained that the Titan – made from carbon fiber and titanium – had not obtained classification because this process could hinder innovation.