Alfred Hagen, a participant in OceanGate’s earlier Dive 80 mission, discusses the US Coast Guard’s findings that inadequate maintenance and inspections contributed to the Titan submersible’s catastrophic implosion on its voyage to the Titanic wreckage in June 2023.

Washington

A passenger who previously traveled on the Titan submersible has commented on the recent Coast Guard report into the vessel's fatal incident. The passenger acknowledged recurring issues with the submersible but did not believe earlier entanglements with the Titanic wreckage contributed to the tragedy. The report highlighted a loud noise near the surface, which investigators identified as a sign of hull distress, and raised questions about the submersible's exposure to harsh conditions in Canada.

The report also noted that the liability waivers signed by passengers were not certified by any regulatory body and referenced the risk of death multiple times. The passenger stated that all involved were aware of the risks, and while mistakes were made, he disagreed with the suggestion of criminal negligence. He emphasized the mission's goal to advance ocean exploration and democratize access to the deep sea.

Titan submersible passenger weighs in on Coast Guard report

We always had issues with the Titan. I'd been on it previously. There were always a series of issues. I don't think us getting momentarily caught in the wreckage of the Titanic had anything to do with the eventual tragedy. But when we were coming back to the surface from over two and a half miles of depth, as we neared the surface, there was a loud bang that sounded like a gunshot. And that's what the Coast Guard keeps referring to. And they've interpreted that as the moment when the hull began to show signs of distress and decay that led to the imminent failure. And then, of course, you had this submersible sitting over the course of a very cold winter there outside in Canada, where obviously, you know, water in some kind of crack or fissure isn't going to do anything but expand. And there's big questions raised in this report about that. This is a report, Fred, that shows the liability waiver signed by passengers in the submersible had not been certified by any regulatory body and mentioned death nine times. Did you, when you were going on this and did the crew, were you given any sort of sense of what the risks really were? Everyone understood the risk. We discussed it. I certainly understood it. There were incidents before I went down that I recognized as dangerous. And as PH said, you know, he understood that if he died, it would all be over in a moment. And he said repeatedly to me, I'd rather die like that than die of old age in bed. Now, he didn't want to die. But what we're forgetting here is that these men, this was a noble effort. I know everybody gets caught up in a tragedy, and they want to find some ways at fault. They want to cast blame. They want to jump on the bandwagon. And I get that. And this is a tragedy. It was a tragedy for me. I miss PH every day. But they were engaged in a noble effort to democratize the abyss. And yet, Alfred, the mistakes that you're describing that were made by the Oceangate family, the investigative board said they would have referred criminal charges to Stockton Rush had he survived. So I wonder if there was negligence that they found that contributed to the crew's deaths, what you think accountability looks like? I understand their position. I disagree with it. I don't think it was criminal. There were mistakes made. There were pressures that Stockton was under, and he was pursuing a dream and a goal. It is tragic to me that paying passengers lost their lives. And yes, they probably did not fully comprehend the risk. And there were mistakes made. But it was an effort to advance the science, to access the bottom of the ocean, as I call it, to democratize the abyss so that people like me could go to the bottom of the sea. I understood the risk, and I accepted it.

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