Page 8: of Marine Technology Magazine (July 2023)

OPINION OCEANGATE TRAGEDY

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Polar Prince towing OceanGate

E E E E E E E E E E E E Exp E editions submersible vessels s s s s s s s s o o o o o on n o a barge as it leaves for the Titanic c c c c c c c ean below w ck et ot wre w w w wrec sit ste to tour beo th t e ocean. n. .

WE CANNOT LET THE

OCEANGATE TRAGEDY PUT A

PAUSE ON OCEAN EXPLORATION © Dolores Harvey/AdobeStock

By Rear Admiral (ret.) Tim Gallaudet, PhD n the wake of the catastrophic implosion of OceanGate’s dant communications with her mothership.

Titan submersible during a dive on the wreck of RMS Mandating technical standards for essential life support and

Titanic, the marine technology community continues to operational systems in manned submersibles can mean the

I question how to prevent such a tragedy from recurring. difference between success and failure – as well as life and

An obvious option is to impose international safety regula- death – in future undersea expeditions. Consider the remark- tions regarding such expeditions. ably similar situation following the sinking of Titanic.

For manned submersibles, there is merit in considering re- Two years after the disaster, the major maritime nations strictions based upon technical criteria. OceanGate refused to passed the International Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea obtain DVL certi? cation for Titan. This was one of several (SOLAS), which established the minimum safety measures in safety concerns raised by the manned underwater vehicles the construction, equipment, and operation of merchant ships. committee of the Marine Technology Society in a 2018 let- Because SOLAS has been the backbone of maritime safety for ter to OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who was among the nearly a century, the international community should convene victims in the mishap. a SOLAS-like convention for manned submersibles or incor-

The Titan also lacked critical technologies which could en- porate this vehicle class in the SOLAS convention itself.

hance submersible safety, such as a high precision inertial At the same time, we must ensure any international regu- navigation system (INS), an Emergency Position Indicating lations acknowledge the stellar track record of both manned

Radio Beacon (EPIRB), and a means of reliable and redun- and unmanned ocean exploration. Record-setting explorer 8 July/August 2023

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