Canada Missed Inspections Before OceanGate Titan Implosion

A report from Canada’s Transportation Safety Board has exposed critical gaps in oversight that allowed OceanGate’s Titan submersible to operate out of St. John’s, Newfoundland, for years without registration, flagging, or certification , until it imploded during a tourist expedition to the Titanic wreck in 2023. The findings reveal a systemic failure among federal agencies to piece together warning signs that could have prevented the tragedy.

“When it came to the Titan, critical information existed across multiple federal government organizations, but no one was responsible for connecting the dots,” TSB chair Yoan Marier said in a statement. “Without a complete picture of the operation, the Titan continued to operate in Canada without regulatory oversight.”

OceanGate’s interactions with Canadian authorities began while the Titan was still being assembled in Everett, Washington. In May 2021, Fisheries and Oceans Canada proposed paying the company $25,000 to support deep-sea ecosystem research during planned Titanic missions the following year. However, Global Affairs Canada denied OceanGate a research permit after the company falsely claimed that Fisheries and Oceans would act as its sponsor.

The Titan’s first voyage to the Titanic that June ended prematurely when one of its titanium domes detached, forcing the support ship Horizon Arctic to return to St. John’s. Before disappointed passengers , each of whom had paid over $100,000 for the experience , could disembark, the vessel was directed to a secure area of the harbor. Armed officers from Canada’s Border Security Agency then boarded and questioned passengers about Covid-19 protocols and their involvement in the dives.

“They were extremely intimidating,” passenger Gary Philbrick told WIRED. “I couldn’t get off the ship fast enough.”

The agents also inquired why OceanGate lacked a research permit. David Concannon, a lawyer who had previously worked with OceanGate, explained that the Titan would only dive in international waters. The agents departed without further action. “They had zero interest in the sub. Absolutely none,” Concannon said. “They were there to look at paperwork.”

That assessment was accurate, according to TSB investigator Etienne Seguin-Bertrand. “As long as the sub had been imported properly and any applicable duties paid, it wasn’t part of their mandate to make sure that it was properly registered and safe.”

Transport Canada, the agency responsible for enforcing vessel regulations , including registration, flagging, and certification for passenger-carrying vessels , had classified the Titan as cargo aboard the Horizon Arctic, exempting it from inspection.

In July 2021, a Fisheries and Oceans Canada researcher joined an OceanGate mission as an observer and reported that the carbon fiber submersible lacked regulatory approval, certification, and insurance. Those concerns never reached Transport Canada’s marine safety team, though the report does not clarify where the breakdown occurred. Fisheries and Oceans never followed through on its funding plan for Titan missions.

Throughout 2021 and 2022, OceanGate continued operating from St. John’s, successfully completing dives to the Titanic and other sites in Canadian waters. The company interacted with 10 federal agencies, including Parks Canada, the Department of National Defense, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Yet its operations were never directly reported to the marine safety team. “In terms of the actual people that were responsible for marine oversight, their focus was on the Canadian support vessel,” said TSB investigator Jason Melvin.