Company that owned imploded submersible was registered in Bahamas

The submersible vessel named Titan used to visit the wreckage site of the Titanic. (OceanGate Expeditions via AP)

As of Tuesday, June 27, 2023

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story reported that OceanGate’s submersible, Titan, is registered in The Bahamas. This was incorrect. The Bahamas Maritime Authority has clarified that OceanGate Expeditions Ltd is registered in The Bahamas as a company only. The authority told The Tribune: “Its submersible Titan and its support vessel, associated with the recent tragedy, are not registered under The Bahamas Flag and are, therefore, beyond the jurisdiction and purview of the design, construction and operational regulatory standards which would be applicable to Bahamian flagged vessels.”

By LETRE SWEETING

Tribune Staff Reporter

lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

The company that owned the doomed submersible carrying five passengers to the wreckage of the Titanic was registered in The Bahamas.

Fragments of the submersible were found on the seabed near the Titanic wreck, with experts saying the debris was consistent with a “catastrophic implosion of the vehicle” that killed those on board.

A liability waiver the passengers signed noted that all disputes would be subject to Bahamian court proceedings. “I, ------, acknowledge that I have voluntarily applied to participate in a submersible operation arranged by OceanGate Expeditions, Ltd, a company registered in The Bahamas,” the waiver says.

The first page of the waiver mentions the word death four times.

“Any disputes related to or arising from either the operation or this release shall be governed by the laws of The Bahamas. Any dispute arising from either the operation or the release shall be resolved in the courts of The Bahamas,” the waiver said.

According to international reports, the investigation into the incident could be complicated by the fact that it happened in international waters.

Officials are also grappling with who will determine how the tragedy unfolded.

Yesterday, the Star-Advertiser, a Hawaii-based newspaper, reported: “It was not entirely clear who would have the authority to lead what is sure to be a complex investigation involving several countries. OceanGate Expeditions, the company that owned and operated the Titan, is based in the US but the submersible was registered in The Bahamas. OceanGate is based in Everett, Washington, but closed when the Titan was found. Meanwhile, the Titan’s mother ship, the Polar Prince, was from Canada, and those killed were from England, Pakistan, France, and the US.”

bahamianson 10 months, 3 weeks ago

It seems that we are always tied to shady dealings. It is like , they came here, paid someone money , then left. Sounds like the ftx all over again. Foreigners come here dangling carrots , and we eat to our demise.

TalRussell 10 months, 3 weeks ago

We need stop after, — Just five who deaded in Newfoundland sea waters ---- Gripped the world's rescue teams and ships to respond — 'Including a Bahamian vessel.'— Whilst hundreds of Haitian sloops souls' ----- Got/still getting' a — Shrug — After 'voluntarily jumping and shoved overboard into the Bahamian sea waters. — 'Including womans' and infant childrens' — 'IS left to be', — Salt sea water drowned' - 'Aye.' 'Nay?'

ExposedU2C 10 months, 3 weeks ago

No surprise here. LOL

killemwitdakno 10 months, 3 weeks ago

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killemwitdakno 10 months, 3 weeks ago

Where was the 2018 complaint filed?

In April , they filed in a US District Court in Virginia that oversees Titanic matters.

The depth matching that of the Titanic was tested in Bahamian waters.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...">https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...

Brown told Reuters, “Parts of the submarine that I had seen in its testing in the Bahamas seemed shoddy. They are using old industrial piping for the sub’s ballast, they are using a video game controller for steering. I wasn't happy with the design like the thrusters on the outside. They flatly refused to get any proper certification and they did not have any intention of getting a certification for going down to those depths once, let alone several times. There was a lightning strike during the testing once, which blew all the electronics. Where is the redundancy, because it is normal for any vessel that sustains human life to have redundancy. So, the fact that one lightning strike blew the whole thing and I was like where are the safety measures here. So, all of those things together made me think that there are lots of risks here that I am not able to mitigate and control. So I pulled out in the end. That was the end of 2018.”

https://www.zeebiz.com/world/news-mee...">https://www.zeebiz.com/world/news-mee...

I'm imaging this depth is in the tongue of the ocean near you know who.

ThisIsOurs 10 months, 3 weeks ago

This actually sounds "normal".

This is receiving attention because the risks materialized (they dont always, sometimes luck is on your side) and those risks had the worst possible outcome, death. But this storyline is par for the course in almost every business. Time and Cost are King. Testing requires time and its costly, the outcome is inevitable. The irony is, when the risks materialize, the Time and Cost lost for not testing quadruples, sometimes the Cost is incalculable like death, loss of goodwill or an incident that destroys all efforts to date

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