‘Presumed Humane Remains’ Recovered from Titan Wreckage

The U.S. Coast Guard said it will transport debris from the wreckage of the Titan submersible to the U.S. as part of its Marine Board of Investigation into the accident.

The news comes after word that some of the wreckage had been recovered from the sea floor and offloaded in St. John’s, Newfoundland, from the Horizon Maritime vessel Horizon Arctic.

The Coast Guard also says it has carefully recovered “presumed human remains” from within the wreckage. The remains will be sent for formal analysis.

After consulting with international partner investigative agencies, the decision was made to transport the evidence aboard a U.S. Coast Guard cutter to a port in the United States where the MBI will be able to facilitate further analysis and testing.

As previously reported, the U.S. Coast Guard has launched a Marine Board of Investigation into the accident, the agency’s highest level of investigation. The MBI will work to determine the cause of a casualty, whether misconduct or negligence contributed to the cause, if any laws were violated, and if new laws or regulations are needed to prevent future casualties. The MBI will work alongside the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which will be responsible for determining probable cause.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has also initiated an investigation as the authority of the flag state where the expedition support vessel is registered.

“I am grateful for the coordinated international and interagency support to recover and preserve this vital evidence at extreme offshore distances and depths,” said MBI Chair Captain Jason Neubauer. “The evidence will provide investigators from several international jurisdictions with critical insights into the cause of this tragedy. There is still a substantial amount of work to be done to understand the factors that led to the catastrophic loss of the TITAN and help ensure a similar tragedy does not occur again.”

The crew of the Canadian-flagged Polar Prince lost contact with the for-hire Titan approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes into its dive on Sunday, June 18. Following an extensive multi-national search and rescue effort led by the U.S. Coast Guard, wreckage of the Titan was located on the ocean floor approximately 500 meters off the bow of the Titanic some 96 hours after the sub first submerged. All five people on board, including OceanGate Expedition’s founder and CEO, are presumed dead.

Unlock Exclusive Insights Today!

Join the gCaptain Club for curated content, insider opinions, and vibrant community discussions.

Sign Up