Life insurance companies may deny claims in submersibles and submarines due to the “dangerous activity” exclusion. Deaths due to submersibles or submarines may be subject to a denial unless the life insurance companies approved these activities in writing ahead of time, which is rare. Our life insurance lawyers fight all denied life insurance claims. Here are some submersible accidents:
The Titan submersible was a state-of-the-art vessel designed to take tourists to the Titanic wreck site. It was operated by OceanGate, a private company that offered deep-sea expeditions. On June 18, 2023, the Titan was on its way to the Titanic when it lost contact with its support ship, Yokosuka. A week-long search and rescue mission followed, involving the US Navy, Coast Guard and other agencies. On June 23, 2023, a remote-operated vehicle found debris of the Titan on the seafloor, confirming that it sustained an implosion that killed all five people on board. The cause of the implosion is still under investigation, but experts say it could have been due to a structural failure, a collision with an object, or a rapid change in pressure.
Other Submersible and Submarine Accidents include:
- Two people died when the DSV Nautile collided with an underwater volcano while studying hydrothermal vents in the Pacific Ocean in July 2016.
- One person died when the DSV Alvin experienced a rapid decompression while returning from a dive in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2014.
- Three people died when the DSV Pisces IV and Pisces V were trapped by a rockslide while surveying a seamount near Hawaii in September 2011.
- One person died when the DSV Mir-1 was crushed by a falling iceberg while filming a documentary in the Arctic Ocean in August 2007.
- Two people died when the DSV Jiaolong malfunctioned and sank to a depth of over 7,000 meters in the South China Sea in June 2005.
- One person died when the DSV Johnson Sea Link II was snagged by a fishing net and dragged to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean off Florida in March 2003.
- One person died when the DSV Konsul was hit by a propeller of a passing ship while conducting research in the Baltic Sea in October 2001.
- 118 people died when the Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kursk (K-141) exploded and sank in the Barents Sea during a naval exercise in August 2003.
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