BBC2’s documentary Implosion reveals new information about Titan sub disaster

28 May 2025 • Written by Holly Margerrison

Credit: US Coast Guard Headquarters

Former member of the US Coast Guard Matthew McCoy, who worked for OceanGate between April - September 2017, testified. He told the hearing OceanGate had broken ties with the applied physics lab at the University of Washington, calling this the "first alarm bell" when no explanation was given. The second alarm bell was that “Boeing wasn’t going to be doing the carbon fibre” for the first sub hull.
McCoy said he raised concerns about the lack of certificate of inspection for the first Titan sub in 2017 with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and OceanGate’s director of quality assurance Scott Griffith. McCoy testified that Rush said he would "buy a congressman" to make problems go away. He handed in his notice the following day.
Captain Jamie Frederick, the US Coast Guard employee who oversaw the rescue mission of the Titan submersible, gave evidence next. He recalled the moment the Coast Guard received a call about "overdue" Titan. The initial challenges in the search were the distance off-shore, the lack of presence from the Canadian Coast Guard initially, and the 3,000 metre ROV (remotely operated vehicle) depth.
Scott Talbot, a search and rescue specialist with the Coast Guard, was last to testify. He confirmed that the US Coast Guard has not updated safety protocols since the Titan submersible tragedy.

Credit: Getty Images

The hearing kicked off with testimony from NASA engineer Justin Jackson, before hearing from John Winters, a marine inspector with the Coast Guard, and Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Duffett of the Coast Guard Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance.
Winters said that former OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush "did express on multiple occasions that regulations were stifling his innovation process" . He said OceanGate did not ask the Coast Guard to inspect Titan and that he only spoke to Rush about the sub in passing when he mentioned wanting to take a vessel to the Titanic wreckage.
Maps were also released revealing how close the Titan sub was to the Titanic wreck site before disaster hit. While the sub's last known position before the implosion was 1,600ft away from the bow of the Titanic, its debris was found much closer to the bow at 300m away, Coast Guard officials said.