A day after revelations that the Titan submersible imploded, officials grappled Friday with vexing questions about who is responsible for investigating the international disaster.
The U.S. Coast Guard said an official inquiry had not yet been launched because the agencies involved are still looking for clues about what caused the vessel to fall apart.
How the investigation will proceed is also complicated by the fact that the world of deep-sea exploration is not well-regulated. Deep-sea expeditions like those offered by OceanGate are scrutinized less than the companies that launch people into space, noted Salvatore Mercogliano, a history professor at Campbell University in North Carolina who focuses on maritime history and policy.
Bob Ballard, a member of the research team that found the Titanic wreck in 1985, called the lack of certification by outside experts “the smoking gun” in the Titan implosion. Any sliver of hope that remained for finding the crew alive was wiped away early Thursday, when the submersible’s 96-hour supply of air was expected to run out and the Coast Guard announced that debris had been found roughly 1,600 feet from the Titanic.The Coast Guard said Thursday that the sounds detected during the search - that had given rescuers some hope that maybe the people were alive - were likely generated by something other than the Titan.
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