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The employees of OceanGate are preparing to give testimony at a hearing regarding the tragic implosion of the Titan submersible, which occurred over a year ago in the North Atlantic.
The Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation has published a schedule and a witness list for the upcoming hearing, which is slated to commence on September 16 in North Charleston, South Carolina, and is expected to run for approximately two weeks.
According to a press release issued by the Coast Guard, the hearing’s objective is to investigate the details surrounding the incident and to formulate recommendations aimed at preventing such tragedies in the future.
Among the witnesses will be former OceanGate employees, including Tony Nissen, the engineering director, as well as Bonnie Carl and David Lochridge, who served as the operations director.
The entire hearing will be available to watch live on the Coast Guard’s YouTube channel, as stated in the release.
The Titan submersible launched its ill-fated expedition on June 18, 2023, with the intent of exploring the remains of the RMS Titanic, located nearly 13,000 feet beneath the surface.
Tragically, the submersible lost contact less than two hours into its dive, leading to an intense search and rescue effort.
On June 22, both the US Coast Guard and OceanGate reported that debris found on the ocean floor confirmed the submersible had imploded, resulting in the deaths of the five individuals aboard.
The deceased included prominent figures such as British billionaire Hamish Harding, British-Pakistani multimillionaire Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman, along with former French navy diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, was also among the victims and had previously expressed concerns that stringent regulations were hampering the marine exploration field, despite asserting it was “obscenely safe.”
In the aftermath of the incident, legal analysts noted that OceanGate might be shielded from future litigation, as those who boarded the sub had signed a waiver detailing the risks associated with such an expedition, including the potential for death.
Despite this, in August, a lawsuit was filed by Nargeolet’s family against OceanGate and Rush’s estate, seeking over $50 million, alleging that the tragic implosion stemmed from “carelessness, recklessness, and negligence” by the company.
As of now, representatives from the Coast Guard have not provided immediate responses to inquiries from Business Insider made outside of business hours.
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