The report says Titan began its descent on 18 June 2023 about 372 nautical miles south-southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland and Labrador. After about one hour and 45 minutes, the support team aboard the Polar Prince lost contact. Wreckage was found on the ocean floor near the Titanic on 22 June. There were no survivors.
The central technical finding is not merely that Titan used carbon fibre. The TSB said its pressure hull consisted of a carbon-fibre cylinder capped by titanium domes, and that using carbon fibre in a deep-ocean human-occupied pressure hull was novel. It also said the as-built properties of the cylinder were never validated against the theoretical values used in design, and that construction and testing did not follow standard engineering practices.
Table: Titan controls and TSB findings
| Control area | What the report examined | TSB finding | Consequence described by TSB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure hull material | Carbon-fibre cylinder with titanium domes | As-built cylinder properties were not validated against design values | OceanGate did not know how long the hull would remain structurally intact over repeated dives |
| Strain monitoring | Post-dive strain data | Analysis was inconsistent | The hull was not removed from service before failure |
| Acoustic monitoring | Warning system for impending hull failure | The system was not shown to give consistent advance warning and did not function as intended during the occurrence | It did not provide a dependable escape margin |
| Regulatory oversight | Transport Canada's role around uncertified vessels | Titan received no oversight from Transport Canada | The Board issued recommendations on risk-based oversight |
Source: Transportation Safety Board of Canada, 2026.