Titan Submersible Debris and Human Remains Recovered from the Seafloor

Eric Haun October 10, 2023

Coast Guard marine safety engineers assigned to the Marine Safety Center, working for the Marine Board of Investigation for the Titan submersible case, conduct a survey of the aft titanium endcap from Titan in the North Atlantic Ocean October 1, 2023. The endcap was recently recovered from the seafloor and successfully transferred to a U.S. port for analysis. (Photo: U.S. National Transportation Safety Board)

The U.S. Coast Guard on Tuesday said its engineers recovered remaining debris and presumed human remains from the imploded Titan submersible in the North Atlantic.

The evidence recovered from the seafloor by marine safety engineers with the Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) was transferred to shore for analysis as part of ongoing investigations into the fatal incident.

In June, the Titan imploded while on a voyage to visit the wreck site of the famed sunken ocean liner Titanic, killing all five people on board. The deep-sea submersible, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, was discovered in pieces on the seabed some 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic.

The Coast Guard said the recent salvage mission was conducted with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada under an existing agreement with U.S. Navy Supervisor of Salvage & Diving as a follow-up to initial recovery operations performed in the days following the loss.

The newly recovered evidence includes pieces of the lost submersible such as its aft titanium endcap, as well as presumed human remains that were carefully retrieved for examination by U.S. medical professionals, the Coast Guard said. All evidence was brought ashore at a U.S. port for cataloging and analysis.

The team of international investigative agencies will schedule a joint evidence review of the debris in an effort to determine next steps for forensic testing.

Meanwhile, the MBI will continue to conduct evidence analysis and witness interviews ahead of a public hearing about the tragedy. A hearing date has not been announced.