Crisis Comms Following OceanGate Implosion

BluSiren, formerly A.WordSmith, supported the submersible industry at large with crisis communications following the loss of OceanGate’s Titan submersible, which imploded during a June 2023 dive to the Titanic, killing five people.

SEAmagine

For client SEAmagine, BluSiren’s Amelia Smith provided rapid-response written statements and key talking points to support the company’s numerous international media interviews on the topic of submersible safety. In the months following the incident, Smith developed editorial content (example) and integrated messaging across SEAmagine’s magazine, e-newsletter, and social media channels, reinforcing the company’s long-standing commitment to safety.

For SEAmagine, it was essential to educate the broader marine industry and public about the submersible sector’s rigorous standards—including third-party testing, the use of certified materials, extensive operator training, and multiple system redundancies. With a flawless record of more than 13,000+ dives without incident and a proactive communication strategy, SEAmagine established itself as a trusted authority on submersible safety and clearly differentiated its operations and engineering standards from those of OceanGate.

Marine Technology Society’s Submarine Committee

In addition to SEAmagine’s communications support, BluSiren also provided strategic writing and editorial assistance to Will Kohnen, President & CEO of Hydrospace Group and Chair of the MTS Submersible Committee, in drafting his formal correspondence to the U.S. Coast Guard following the OceanGate tragedy. The resulting letter — widely circulated within marine industry and regulatory circles — clarified the distinctions between the regulated, safety-focused submersible sector and the unregulated practices that led to the incident. BluSiren’s role was to help ensure that the Committee’s message was clear, factual, and authoritative, reflecting both the technical rigor and the decades-long commitment to safety that define the commercial submersible community. This communication played an important role in reaffirming industry credibility and strengthening dialogue with government agencies during a period of heightened public scrutiny.