Canada Looking Into Possible Criminal Charges Over Titanic Sub

The Polar Prince, the ship that launched the Titan submersiblePhoto: Adrian Wyld (AP)

We already know that OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush ignored experts and made a number of comments that make it sound like he was beyond reckless when it came to the safety of the Titan submersible that recently imploded on a dive to visit the Titanic. As a result, he and four others are now dead. But did OceanGate break any laws when it sent all five people to their deaths? Canada would like to know.

CNN reports that Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police are investigating whether or not “criminal, federal, or provincial laws may possibly have been broken.” On Saturday, RCMP Superintendent Kent Osmond told reporters that they have begun an “examination of the circumstances that led to the deaths” to answer the “question of whether or not a full investigation … is warranted.”

“Such an investigation will proceed only if our examination of circumstances indicate criminal federal or provincial laws may possibly have been broken. There’s no suspicion of criminal activity per se, but the RCMP is taking initial steps to assess whether or not we will go down that road,” Osmond continued.

The RCMP isn’t the only authority looking into the circumstances of the implosion. Transportation Safety Board of Canada chair Kathy Fox recently told reporters that the TSB had boarded the Polar Prince, the ship that launched the Titan, to gather information from its data recorder and conduct interviews with people who were on the ship at the time. “Our mandate is to find out what happened and why and to find out what needs to change to reduce the chance or the risk of such occurrences in the future,” she said.

So basically, they’re investigating whether they should open an investigation. Which sounds a little silly at first, but it’s not like private ocean exploration companies routinely have their subs implode on tourist trips. It certainly feels like there should be legal repercussions for OceanGate, but prosecuting people based on vibes doesn’t exactly set the best precedent. Additionally, we wouldn’t be surprised if the families of those who died ended up suing OceanGate, too.