RCMP taken task on investigating the deaths onboard the submersible Titan, TSB reviews logs

Separate investigations into the deaths of five individuals aboard the submersible Titan will be conducted by the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

Superintendent Kent Osmond of the RCMP Newfoundland and Labrador division explains that a team has been assembled to conduct an initial assessment to determine the need for a comprehensive investigation and whether any laws have been violated. No specific timeframe has been established for this preliminary examination.

Osmond acknowledges that this particular case presents a unique situation, not only because of the nature of the incident but also due to the involvement of multiple jurisdictions. He emphasizes that such a review does not automatically imply criminal activity, as investigations of this kind are common for the RCMP, which has the authority to investigate offshore deaths.

Furthermore, in addition to the collaborative investigation being carried out by the Canadian and U.S. Transportation Safety Boards, the RCMP is conducting its separate inquiry. Osmond anticipates cooperation between these parallel efforts.

He further states that interviews have already commenced, but it is premature to estimate the duration of the preliminary work.

 

The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has initiated the review of the bridge logs from the Polar Prince vessel following the tragic loss of five individuals on the submersible Titan earlier this week.

TSB officials addressed the media on Saturday, expressing their commitment to investigating the incident’s causes and taking measures to prevent such events from occurring in the future.

They explained that the voyage data recorder on the Polar Prince captures all audio from the bridge, and they will carefully examine those logs as part of their investigation.

The TSB will collaborate with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board during the investigation, and they estimate that the comprehensive inquiry may span a duration of 18 months to two years.

In the meantime, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) will conduct a separate investigation into the incident, with further information expected to be provided later on Saturday afternoon.

 

The return of the Polar Prince, the Miawpukek Horizon ship that had towed the Oceangate submersible Titan before its final dive, marked the conclusion of a challenging journey as it arrived back at St. John’s harbour on Saturday morning.

This return signifies the end of a distressing ordeal for the support ship’s crew, who lost contact with the submersible on Sunday.

The Titan, which was utilized for exploring the wreckage of the Titanic, vanished one hour and 45 minutes into its dive, approximately 700 kilometers southeast of Newfoundland.

This triggered an extensive multinational search effort that lasted several days. Ultimately, on Thursday, the US Coast Guard announced the discovery of a debris field near the Titanic, indicating a catastrophic loss of pressure in the submersible. The five individuals on board were declared presumed deceased.

 

While the US Coast Guard is continuing with some recovery and salvage efforts, most Canadian ships involved in the search have either returned to port or are en route there.

The Polar Prince had been involved with the search effort throughout the week and was carrying family members of some of the five missing crew. It’s return to St. John’s comes in the wake of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada’s announcement that it will be investigating the Polar Prince’s role in the Titan’s operations.