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OceanGate passenger waiver called Titan an 'experimental submersible', listed death risks: Report

The waiver mentioned risks "associated with high-pressure gases, pure oxygen servicing, high-voltage electrical systems, and other dangers"

The Titan tourist submersible, which is believed to have imploded last month in the Atlantic with five passengers on board, was able to reach "the depth" of the Titanic shipwreck only 13 out of fewer than 90 previous dives, according to OceanGate Expedition’s passenger waiver accessed by the Insider.

The four-page waiver, which would-be passengers must sign before going on the Titanic expedition, also called the 21-foot Titan an “experimental submersible”. It said the sub was "constructed of materials that have not been widely used for manned submersibles", the Insider reported after reviewing the waiver.

The waiver, also published by the Insider in full, said the vessel will experience “extreme pressure” under the water and “any failure of the vessel, while I am aboard, could cause me severe injury, disability, disability, emotional trauma, other harm, and/or death”. It mentioned the death risk on seven other occasions.

The Titanic wreckage lies around 12,500 feet below sea level — more than four-and-half times the height of the Burj Khalifa. The enormous pressure underwater at that depth is around 400 times what it is on the surface. Very few vessels can survive there.

The waiver detailed risks "associated with high-pressure gases, pure oxygen servicing, high-voltage electrical systems, and other dangers" — and pointed out that "all travel in or around the water on vessels of any type, including submersibles, entails known and unanticipated risks that could result in physical injury, disability, emotional trauma, death, harm to myself or third parties, or damage to my property or the property of others".

A representative of OceanGate, which operated the Titan submersible, told the Insider the company was "unable to provide any additional information" about the waiver.

According to the Associated Press news agency, Titan, which began taking people to the Titanic in 2021, was "touted for a roomier cylinder-shaped cabin made of a carbon-fibre — a departure from the sphere-shaped cabins made of titanium used by most submersibles".

Titan was carrying five passengers when it went missing on June 18. After a days-long multi-nation search, the US Coast Guard recovered the debris of the submersible and said Titan might have suffered a “catastrophic implosion”, which claimed the lives of all five crew members.

Dubai-based British billionaire Hamish Harding, UK-based Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet were on board the tourist vessel headed to explore the Titanic’s wreckage.

The tragedy raised questions about the safety of the submersible and measures taken by OceanGate.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, maritime expert Salvatore Mercogliano told the AP news agency that deep sea operations, like the one Titan was involved in, were scrutinised less than the companies that launch people into space. In the Titan's case, that's in part because it operated in international waters, far from the reach of many laws of the United States or other nations, according to the AP report.

It was also reported widely that the Titan wasn't registered as a US vessel or with international agencies that regulate safety. It was not even classified by a “maritime industry group that sets standards on matters such as hull construction”, the AP reported.

The Titan was launched from another ship, the Canadian Polar Prince, a setup that Mercogliano likened to pulling a boat on a trailer. “The highway patrol has jurisdiction over the car and over the trailer, but not over the boat,” Mercogliano, a history professor at Campbell University in North Carolina who focuses on maritime history and policy, told the AP. “The boat is cargo.”

READ MORE:

• Lights off, marine creatures, and music: The final hours of the doomed Titan sub

• Watch: OceanGate's Titan submersible spins out of control in old expedition video

• Titanic sub tragedy: Chilling videos claim to show how an implosion could look