EVENT DESCRIPTION
Five people died when the commercial submersible TITAN imploded on June 18, 2023, in what is considered to be a preventable tragedy. The U.S. Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation into the fatal incident found that OceanGate’s failure to follow established engineering protocols for safety, testing, and maintenance of their submersible, was the primary causal factor. The investigation further identified the need for proper corporate governance, a professional workplace culture, and improved regulatory oversight, in particular for novel vessel designs and operations.
The Chair of the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation into this incident will discuss the findings of the investigation with an emphasis on the engineering shortcuts and pitfalls that contributed to the TITAN’s demise.
SPEAKER/PRESENTER
Jason Neubauer, Captain USCG, Retired
Mr. Jason Neubauer Office of Investigations and Casualty Analysis Deputy Chief Mr. Neubauer has served as the deputy chief of the Office of Investigations and Analysis (CG INV) at Coast Guard Headquarters since June 2023. He is responsible for overseeing marine casualty investigations, suspension and revocation cases involving credentialed mariners, violation investigations, and data analysis for the Coast Guard’s prevention operations. Prior to his retirement as a captain in the Coast Guard, Mr. Neubauer served as the chief of CG INV from August 2014 to June 2018 and again from July 2019 until June 2023. During his tenure in CG-INV, Mr. Neubauer served as the chair of three Commandant-level Marine Boards of Investigation, including those into the sinking of the steamship El Faro, the fire on the small passenger vessel Conception, and the implosion of the submersible Titan. Mr. Neubauer’s previous assignments included serving as the commanding officer of Marine Safety Unit Chicago from July 2012 to July 2014, where he was responsible for prevention operations spanning 300 miles of Lake Michigan coastline and 180 miles of the Illinois River and its tributaries. He also served as the prevention department chief and deputy commander at Coast Guard Sector Honolulu from July 2008 to June 2012, where he was responsible for overseeing Coast Guard operations throughout a 1.5 million square mile Captain of the Port zone that includes the entire Hawaiian Islands and American Samoa. Mr. Neubauer also served as the supervisor of Marine Safety Detachment St. Paul, Minnesota, from August 2000 until June 2003. In St. Paul, he worked closely with the Army Corps of Engineers and the tug and barge industries that transport vital commerce on the Western rivers. Mr. Neubauer was commissioned as an ensign after graduating from the United States Coast Guard Academy in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science in marine engineering and naval architecture. After completing an initial marine inspection training tour in Seattle, he transferred to Marine Safety Office Morgan City, Louisiana from 1996 to 2000, where he inspected vessels supporting the offshore drilling industry and spent three years investigating a wide variety of marine casualties.
.
NOTE: A certificate of attendance for PDH credit will be offered for this meeting.
#VirtualEvent