美国国家运输安全委员会指责OceanGate的“不适当的工程流程”导致了此次事故致命的2023内爆该公司的泰坦潜水器在周三发布的最终报告。
NTSB在其87页的声明中称:“我们发现，OceanGate为泰坦设计的工程过程不充分，导致碳纤维复合材料压力容器的结构存在多处异常，未能满足必要的强度和耐用性要求。”报告.
2023年6月18日，该船在第88次潜水时发生内爆，导致5人在前往泰坦尼克号残骸的深海航行中丧生。
NTSB的最终报告发现，该船在下潜80次后受损，并在下潜82次后再次受损，情况持续恶化，直到在下潜88次时发生灾难性内爆。
“由于OceanGate没有充分测试Titan，该公司不知道压力容器的实际强度和耐用性，这可能远远低于他们的目标，以及某些操作变化的影响，包括储存条件和牵引，可能会影响压力容器的完整性和容器的整体安全，”报告称。“此外，OceanGate对泰坦压力容器实时监控数据的分析存在缺陷，因此该公司并不知道泰坦已经损坏，需要在潜水80次后立即停止使用。”
NTSB表示，美国和国际标准的不足进一步加剧了内爆，因为这些标准不足以控制OceanGate。
因此，该机构就载人压力容器的操作向海岸警卫队和国际海事组织发布了新的安全建议。
其中包括美国海岸警卫队委托一个专家小组研究船只的当前操作，如潜水器的维护和操作，并根据研究结果执行美国的法规。
NTSB的调查结果与2005年的主要调查结果一致美国海岸警卫队的最终报告在今年早些时候发布的关于内爆的调查报告中。
海岸警卫队的335页报告特别指出了OceanGate“泰坦的设计、认证、维护和检查过程不充分”报告发现，潜水器内爆是由于“泰坦压力容器的结构完整性丧失”。
报告还批评了该公司的首席执行官斯托克顿·拉什，并指出他是这场灾难的主要原因。报告称，拉什被反复警告他的潜水器有多危险，但他不仅无视所有警告，还威胁任何提出担忧的人。报道称，许多直言不讳的人受到了诉讼或终止合同的威胁。
OceanGate的联合创始人拉什是2023年6月内爆中遇难的人之一。报道称，如果他活了下来，海岸警卫队的调查小组会向DOJ提出过失杀人的指控。
除了拉什之外，在内爆中遇难的还有法国探险家和泰坦尼克号专家保罗·亨利·纳杰奥雷特、英国商人哈米什·哈丁、巴基斯坦商人沙赫扎达·达乌德和他19岁的儿子苏勒曼。
作为对海岸警卫队报告的回应，OceanGate在一份声明中表示，“我们再次向2023年6月18日遇难者的家人以及所有受悲剧影响的人致以最深切的哀悼。悲剧发生后，该公司永久性地停止了运营，并将其资源完全用于配合海岸警卫队的调查，直至完成调查。”
NTSB blames OceanGate's 'inadequate engineering process' for Titan implosion in final report
The National Transportation Safety Board blamed OceanGate's "inadequate engineering process" for thedeadly 2023 implosionof the company's Titan submersible in a final report released Wednesday.
"We found that OceanGate’s engineering process for the Titan was inadequate and resulted in the construction of a carbon fiber composite pressure vessel that contained multiple anomalies and failed to meet necessary strength and durability requirements," the NTSB stated in its 87-pagereport.
The vessel imploded while on its 88th dive, killing five people on a deep-sea voyage to the Titanic wreckage on June 18, 2023.
The NTSB's final report found that the vessel was damaged after dive 80 and again on dive 82, and that it continued to deteriorate until it catastrophically imploded on dive 88.
"Because OceanGate did not adequately test the Titan, the company was unaware of the pressure vessel's actual strength and durability, which was likely much lower than their target, as well as the implications of how certain operational changes, including storage condition and towing, could impact the integrity of the pressure vessel and overall safety of the vessel," the report stated. "Additionally, OceanGate's analysis of Titan pressure vessel real-time monitoring data was flawed, so the company was unaware that the Titan was damaged and needed to be immediately removed from service after dive 80."
The NTSB said insufficient U.S and international standards further contributed to the implosion, as they were not enough to keep OceanGate in check.
As a result, the agency has issued new safety recommendations for the Coast Guard and the International Maritime Organization regarding operations of human-occupied pressure vessels.
They include that the U.S. Coast Guard commission a panel of experts to study current operations of the vessels, such as the maintenance and operation of submersibles, and implement U.S. regulations based on the findings.
The NTSB's findings are in line with the key findings from theU.S. Coast Guard's final reporton its investigation into the implosion, released earlier this year.
The Coast Guard's 335-pagereportsingled out OceanGate's "inadequate design, certification, maintenance and inspection process for the Titan." The submersible imploded due to "loss of structural integrity of the Titan pressure vessel," the report found.
The report also criticized the company's CEO, Stockton Rush, and singled him out as a major reason for the disaster. Rush was warned repeatedly about how dangerous his submersible was and not only ignored all the warnings, but threatened anyone who raised concerns, according to the report. Many who spoke up were threatened with lawsuits or termination, it said.
Rush, the co-founder of OceanGate, was among those killed in the June 2023 implosion. Had he survived, the Coast Guard's investigative team would have recommended manslaughter charges to the DOJ, the report said.
In addition to Rush, those killed in the implosion included French explorer and Titanic expert Paul Henri Nargeolet, British businessman Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman.
In response to the Coast Guard report, OceanGate said in a statement, "We again offer our deepest condolences to the families of those who died on June 18, 2023, and to all those impacted by the tragedy. After the tragedy occurred, the company permanently wound down operations and directed its resources fully towards cooperating with the Coast Guard's inquiry through its completion."
