Canadian police consider criminal probe into catastrophic Titanic tourist sub implosion that killed five men as mothership returns to port and crew face grilling
- Polar Prince arrived in port at St John’s harbor in Canada early on Saturday
- Canadian safety investigators boarded the ship as they launched their probe
- Police are now considering whether or not they should be considering a criminal investigation into the death of the five men onboard the sub
Canadian police are considering a criminal probe into the catastrophic Titanic tourist sub implosion that killed five men, as the mothership makes it returns to port.
Speaking at a news conference earlier today, Superintendent Kent Osmond with the RCMP said that they have begun probing whether or not a criminal investigation is necessary.
The Polar Prince support vessel arrived in St John’s Harbor, Newfoundland, on Saturday morning, docking at about 8.15am local time as sun broke through the morning haze.
Crew members were seen looking somber as they received a briefing aboard the vessel, which departed eight days ago with 24 people aboard, five of whom were killed in the sub disaster.
Police and safety investigators could be seen boarding the vessel after the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada announced it was launching a probe into the fatal implosion of the deep sea vessel.
Superintendent Osmond said: ‘Today the RCMP initiated an examination of the circumstances that led to the deaths of the five individuals onboard the submersible Titan.
Superintendent Kent Osmond, pictured here, said that they have begun probing whether or not a criminal investigation is necessary into the incident
The support ship that launched the doomed Titan submersible has returned to port in Canada , following the sub’s catastrophic implosion that killed all five men aboard
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada board the Polar Prince, the main support ship for the Titan submersible, after it arrived at the Port of St. John’s
Crew members are seen aboard the Polar Prince, the main support ship for the Titan submersible, after the vessel returned to port in St John
Osmond said: ‘Today the RCMP initiated an examination of the circumstances that led to the deaths of the five individuals onboard the submersible Titan.
‘A team of investigators has been established with the sole purpose of answering the question of whether or not a full investigation is warranted.
‘Such an investigation will proceed only if an examination of the circumstances indicate criminal or federal or provincial laws may possibly have been broken.
‘It would have been inappropriate for the RCMP to initiate this action during the recovery efforts.
‘Following the US coastguards announcement earlier this week, we will now look at the circumstances that led to those deaths.
‘Our investigators are engaged and active in this manner as of this morning.’
The Polar Prince had taken part in a massive search effort for the Titan about 435 miles south of St John’s, which came to an end on Thursday with the confirmation the sub had imploded deep underwater, likely soon after it launched on Sunday.
TSB investigators could be seen boarding the Polar Prince shortly after it docked in St. John.
Speaking at a press conference, Cliff Harvey with the TSB said that interviews with those onboard had taken place and they would not be detaining anyone.
TSB officials said they have a mandate to find out why the incident happened and reduce the chance of it ever happening again.
The TSB said that the voyage data recorder keeps a record of all audio from the bridge, and they will be reviewing those logs.
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, pictured here, was aboard the vessel when it imploded last during the expedition
Rib boats were also spotted towing what appeared to be the Titan submersible’s launch platform away from the Polar Prince and further along the port.
As well, tourists gathered at the dock in morbid curiosity, with several posing for selfies with the Polar Prince in the background.
One man who snapped photo of the scene told his girlfriend: ‘Oh wow. How neat. Tragic but neat.’
The Polar Prince is a decommissioned Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker now owned by Miawpukek Horizon Maritime Service Ltd, and chartered by extreme tourism company OceanGate as a support vessel for the Titan’s fatal dive.
OceanGate founder and CEO Stockton Rush was killed aboard the American company’s submersible, along with prominent British Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, British adventurer Hamish Harding, and French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
Two Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) vessels that took part in the search effort also returned to St John’s harbor on Friday evening, with one remaining on site at the scene of the disaster.
A crowd gathered by the dock to watch the return of the CCGS Terry Fox and CCGS Ann Harvey, while the CCGS John Cabot remained on site provide assistance and support to the recovery and salvage operations.
In a statement issued before their ships arrived at the port, the CCG said: ‘The Canadian Coast Guard offers our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the crew of the Titan for their tragic loss.
‘Search and rescue operations have concluded.’
Now authorities from the US and Canada have begun the process of investigating the cause of the Titan’s fatal implosion.
The US Coast Guard said on Friday that a formal inquiry has not yet been launched, because maritime agencies are still busy searching the area where the vessel was destroyed.
Debris was located about 12,500 feet underwater, several hundred feet away from the Titanic wreckage it was on its way to explore.
The Titan submersible (above) catastrophically imploded during a dive to the Titanic’s wreckage on the Atlantic seafloor, killing the pilot and four paying passengers
The launch platform used for the Titan submersible is towed away from the Polar Prince as Canadian officials launched their probe into the deep sea vessel’s fatal implosion
Some tourists took morbid selfies on the dock as the Polar Prince returned to harbor
The Polar Prince, the main support ship for the Titan submersible, arrives at the Port of St. John’s in Newfoundland, Canada on Saturday
The Polar Prince is seen Saturday. There were 24 people aboard when the ship launched eight days ago, but five died aboard the doomed Titan sub
Crew members in orange hard hats were seen on the deck of the vessel, which returned to port with five fewer souls aboard than the 24 it departed with eight days earlier
Police officers speak to crew members onboard the Polar Prince as the ship arrives in port
Canadian officers board the support vessel as the investigation into the Titan disaster begins
Police officers are seen onboard the Polar Prince after its return to the Port of St. John’s
The Polar Prince launched the Titan sub on Sunday, and participated in the search for the OceanGate Expeditions submersible after it disappeared
The US Coast Guard led the initial search and rescue mission, which was a massive international effort that likely cost millions of dollars.
The investigation into the cause of the disaster, and any attempt to recover wreckage from the ocean floor, will likely be difficult and painstaking.
‘This is an incredibly unforgiving environment down there on the seafloor,’ said Rear Adm. John Mauger, of the Coast Guard First District.
Meanwhile, Canada’s TSB said a team of investigators had been deployed to St John’s to ‘gather information, conduct interviews and assess the occurrence’.
In a short statement confirming the investigation, the safety body said: ‘The TSB is launching an investigation into the fatal occurrence involving the Canadian-flagged vessel Polar Prince and the privately operated submersible Titan.
‘In accordance with the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act and international agreements, the TSB… will conduct a safety investigation regarding the circumstances of this operation conducted by the Canadian-flagged vessel Polar Prince.
‘A team of TSB investigators is travelling to St John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador to gather information, conduct interviews and assess the occurrence.
‘In the coming days, we will co-ordinate our activities with other agencies involved.’
The TSB said it will not determine civil or criminal liability in the disaster and conducts investigations for ‘the advancement of transportation safety’.
It was not entirely clear who would have the authority to lead the disaster investigation, which is bound to be complex and involves several countries.
The Titan submersible was registered in the Bahamas, but OceanGate, the company that owned and operated the craft, is based in the US.
OceanGate was headquartered in Everett, Washington, but appears to have shuttered operations after the Titan was confirmed lost with the company’s CEO aboard.
Meanwhile, the Titan’s mother ship, the Polar Prince, is flagged in Canada, and those killed were citizens of the UK, Pakistan, France, and the US.
Officials from the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada leave the Polar Prince after conducting interviews as a preliminary step in their investigation
A person disembarks the Polar Prince on Saturday, appearing to hide their identity behind a hat, mask and sunglasses
The Polar Prince arrives in port, as Canada’s TSB said a team of investigators had been deployed to St John’s to ‘gather information, conduct interviews and assess the occurrence’
The Polar Prince, the main support ship for the Titan submersible, arrives at the Port of St. John’s in Newfoundland, Canada on Saturday morning
Crew members are seen aboard the Polar Prince as it arrives at the Port of St. John’s in Newfoundland, Canada on Saturday morning
As the search and rescue operation concludes, authorities from the US and Canada have begun the process of investigating the cause of the Titan’s fatal implosion
The Polar Prince is a decommissioned Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker now owned by Miawpukek Horizon Maritime Service Ltd, and chartered by OceanGate
The Polar Prince is flagged in Canada, and those killed were citizens of England, Pakistan, France, and the US
The National Transportation Safety Board said Friday that the US Coast Guard has declared the loss of the Titan submersible to be a ‘major marine casualty’ and the Coast Guard will lead the investigation.
An NTSB spokesperson said that information was provided to the agency’s senior management by Coast Guard officials, and the NTSB has joined the investigation.
The US Coast Guard has not confirmed that it will take the lead in the probe.
Coast Guard headquarters said the Coast Guard First District in Boston will discuss future operations and plans, but did not say when.
A First District spokeswoman told DailyMail.com on Saturday morning that the Coast Guard had no new information to share regarding the investigation.
The Titan launched at 8am last Sunday and was reported overdue that afternoon after the Polar Prince lost contact.
Rescuers rushed ships, planes and other equipment to the area and undertook a desperate, but ultimately futile, search for survivors.
Any sliver of hope that remained for finding the crew alive was wiped away early Thursday, when the Coast Guard announced that debris had been found on the seafloor.
The sub debris was not far from the the wreckage of the Titanic, a British ocean liner that sank in 1912 after striking an iceberg on its maiden voyage, killing more than 1,500.
A key part of any investigation is likely to center on the unconventional design of the Titan itself, and its creator’s refusal to submit to independent safety checks.
The Titan was not registered as a US vessel or certified with international agencies that regulate safety. And it wasn’t classified by a maritime industry group that sets standards on matters such as hull construction.
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who was piloting the Titan when it imploded, previously complained that regulations can stifle progress.
‘Bringing an outside entity up to speed on every innovation before it is put into real-world testing is anathema to rapid innovation,’ Rush wrote in a blog post on his company’s website.
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