The United States and Canada have launched separate accident investigations, and the jurisdiction of the Titan implosion accident is unknown in the ocean. Transportation is being carried out in the United States, and the committee is investigating the accident in Canada
The investigation into the explosion of the submersible Titan has been launched recently, but due to disputes over legal jurisdiction, multiple agencies in the United States and Canada have announced the start of their own independent accident investigations.
According to the Global Mail of Canada on June 24th, the "Ocean Gate" company operating this deep diving activity is an American company. The mother ship of the submersible, the "Polar Prince", is registered in Canada and departed from Canada. The "Titan" submersible, which experienced an implosion, was registered in Panama, and the accident occurred in international waters. Experts suggest that this complex situation will lead to numerous legal disputes and also require multiple institutions to exercise jurisdiction simultaneously.
The Polar Prince has now returned to the port of the Canadian Coast Guard. The Transport Safety Commission of Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the National Transportation Safety Commission of the United States have recently announced that they will conduct accident investigations. Previously, the US Coast Guard announced that it had confirmed a "catastrophic implosion" of the submersible, found some fragments of the submersible underwater, and inferred that all passengers had died.
On June 23, the Transport Safety Commission of Canada cited the country's Transport Accident Investigation and Safety Commission Act, stating that it, as the investigative agency of the country to which the mother ship, the Polar Prince, belongs, will lead the accident investigation. The chairman of the committee, Casey Fox, stated that the purpose of the investigation is to examine safety issues and prevent such accidents from happening again, and therefore no criminal or civil charges will be made.
But the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced on the 24th that they will initiate preliminary criminal investigations. Sheriff Kent Osmond stated that the agency is usually responsible for investigating maritime accidents.
Peter Knudsen, spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Commission, confirmed on the 25th that multiple departments in the United States will also conduct a joint investigation: "The US Coast Guard will lead the investigation, and the National Transportation Safety Commission has joined the investigation and will strive to make contributions."
Sara Ross, Deputy Director of the Institute of Ocean and Environmental Law at Dalhousie University in Canada, stated that the jurisdiction over the Titan accident is still uncertain. The situation is complex because the disaster occurred in international waters, which means that there is no unified investigation led by the country where the accident occurred. She said, "This may create a legal precedent."