OceanGate: Titan Submersible Owner Suspends Exploration

OceanGate, the owner of the Titan submarine that sank last month, killing all five passengers on board, has ceased all operations.

The corporation announced on its website that “all exploration and commercial operations” had been halted.

The company’s website also marketed tours to the Portuguese islands of Azores and the Bahamas.

An inquiry into how the sub imploded during a dive to the Titanic wreck on June 18 is ongoing.

Authorities said the investigation, led by the US Coast Guard, will attempt to prevent similar catastrophes in the future.

Cpt Jason Neubauer, the Coast Guard’s chief investigator, announced last month that the Coast Guard has convened its highest level of investigation, which will be conducted in collaboration with Canadian, British, and French authorities. According to Cpt Neubauer, the investigation could lead to the filing of civil or criminal proceedings.

The Coast Guard announced on June 28 that wreckage and human remains from the Titan had been retrieved and returned to land, bringing an early stage of the investigation to a close. Authorities stated the debris would be transported to a US port for further examination.

Cpt Neubauer stated last week that investigators still had “a substantial amount of work” to do.

Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, died on the Titan, along with four other passengers: British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Suleman, 19, British businessman Hamish Harding, 58, and Paul-Henry Nargeolet, 77, a former French navy diver.

Rush was known as an ambitious explorer and a passionate leader who occasionally disregarded the rules in order to pursue his desire of exploring the sea.

He was on board the Titan for multiple successful dives, despite ignoring warnings about the sub’s safety.