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Titan Submersible Hearings Spotlight Multiple Issues With Its Carbon Fiber Hull

Testimony identifies manufacturing defects and problems following an earlier dive and reveals that OceanGate conducted no testing or remedial work despite concerns with the hull.

Wreckage of the Titan ’s innovative carbon fiber hull was found separated into three distinct layers, US National Transportation Safety Board engineer Donald Kramer has told a Coast Guard hearing into the fatal implosion of the OceanGate submersible in 2023. Using samples of carbon fiber saved from its construction, as well as dozens of pieces recovered from the seabed, the NTSB gave the most complete picture to date of the experimental nature of the Titan ’s hull. On Monday, Roy Thomas, a materials expert from the American Bureau of Shipping, told the hearing: “Defects such as voids, blisters on surface, and porosity can weaken carbon fiber, and under extreme hydrostatic pressure can accelerate the failure of a hull.”

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