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Attorneys for his estate said in an emailed statement that the “doomed submersible” had a “troubled history,” and that OceanGate failed to disclose key facts about the vessel and its durability.
Commander Paul-Henri Nargeolet at Black Falcon Pier in Boston on Sept. 1, 1996. AP Photo/Jim Rogash, File
By PATRICK WHITTLE, Associated Press
August 7, 2024 | 2:07 PM
The family of a French explorer who died in a submersible implosion have filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking more than $50 million that accuses the sub’s operator of gross negligence.
Paul-Henri Nargeolet was among five people who died when the Titan submersible imploded during a voyage to the famed Titanic wreck site in the North Atlantic in June 2023. No one survived the trip aboard the experimental submersible owned by OceanGate, a company in Washington state that has since suspended operations.
Known as “Mr. Titanic,” Nargeolet had visited the Titanic site many times before and was regarded as one of the world’s most knowledgeable people about the famous wreck. Attorneys for his estate said in an emailed statement that the “doomed submersible” had a “troubled history,” and that OceanGate failed to disclose key facts about the vessel and its durability.
“The lawsuit further alleges that even though Nargeolet had been designated by OceanGate to be a member of the crew of the vessel, many of the particulars about the vessel’s flaws and shortcomings were not disclosed and were purposely concealed,” the attorneys, the Buzbee Law Firm of Houston, Texas, said in their statement.
A spokesperson for OceanGate declined to comment on the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in King County, Washington.
Debris from the Titan submersible, recovered from the ocean floor near the wreck of the Titanic, is unloaded from the ship Horizon Arctic at the Canadian Coast Guard pier in St. John’s, Newfoundland, June 28, 2023. – Paul Daly/The Canadian Press via AP, File
Tony Buzbee, one of the attorneys on the case, said one of the goals of the lawsuit is to “get answers for the family as to exactly how this happened, who all were involved, and how those involved could allow this to happen.”
Concerns were raised in the aftermath of the disaster about whether the Titan was doomed due to its unconventional design and its creator’s refusal to submit to independent checks that are standard in the industry. Its implosion also raised questions about the viability and future of private deep-sea exploration.
The U.S. Coast Guard quickly convened a high-level investigation, which is still ongoing. A key public hearing that is part of the investigation is scheduled to take place in September.
The Titan made its last dive on June 18, 2023, a Sunday morning, and lost contact with its support vessel about two hours later. After a search and rescue mission that drew attention around the world,