Legal
Titan Submersible Disaster Probes Face Tricky Test of Criminal Liability
- Fault could fall on Titan’s other employees or inspectors
- US, Canada could pursue charges based on jurisdiction
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US and Canadian officials are looking into what went wrong in a commercial deep-sea adventure and whether crimes were committed that led the Titan submersible to implode and kill all five people aboard.
The probes into the Titan disaster, which occurred in international waters on June 18, may be complicated by questions of which country should take the lead, and by doubts that the 22-foot (6.7-meter) watercraft fits the legal definition of a maritime vessel. With the death of the chief executive officer of the submersible company who was on board, potential criminal liability could fall on OceanGate’s other employees, operations managers or inspectors.