Former top OceanGate employees to speak at hearing for imploded submarine

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD)—With the public hearing on why a submarine out to explore the Titanic wreckage imploded looming, the Coast Guard has announced that former employees of the company that created the submarine will testify in North Charleston.

Coast Guard documents say the Titan submersible, owned and operated by OceanGate Expeditions, left to explore the Titanic wreckage on June 18, 2023. An hour and 45 minutes into its dive, the vessel lost contact with its support vessel.

Search and rescue efforts immediately ensued, but on June 22, pieces of the Titan’s wreckage were found about 500 meters from the bow of the Titanic. Coast Guard officials quickly confirmed the vessel had likely imploded and declared all five passengers dead.

As part of the Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation, public hearings are set to begin Sept. 16 at the Charleston County Council Chambers.

A witness sheet provided by the Coast Guard includes OceanGate Co-Founder Guillermo Sohnlein and high rankers such as the former engineering director, scientific director, and operations director.

Two people scheduled to speak, Renata Rojas and Fred Hagen, are listed as OceanGate mission specialists; however, several news outlets, including CNN and The Independent, say both Rojas and Hagen were previous OceanGate dive passengers.

Others set to for witness testimonies include Coast Guard, NASA, and Boeing officials, among others.

The implosion of the vessel resulted in the deaths of five individuals, including the death of pilot Stockton Rush, who was the CEO of OceanGate. Others who perished were Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, members of a notable Pakistani family. British explorer Hamish Harding and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet were also killed.

Coast Guard MBI’s are the highest level of investigation into marine incidents, the agency says. Once the investigation is complete, including the public hearing portion, the Coast Guard will release a full report with evidence, conclusions, and recommendations.

According to Chief Warrant Officer Melissa Leake, Titan’s MBI hearing will be held in North Charleston because of the city’s neutral location and accessibility for hearing participants.

Various reports state that OceanGate began exploring the Titanic wreckage and its surrounding ecosystem in 2021. However, the company’s website now only says, “OceanGate has suspended all exploration and commercial operations.”