A maritime law professor at Louisiana's Tulane University says the owner of a small submersible that imploded Sunday on its way to the wreck of the Titanic will likely seek court protection -- and soon.
Martin Davies says he expects OceanGate Expeditions will try to limit its financial liability if families of the five crew members who died aboard the Titan decide to sue.
Davies said in an interview that the company would first have to decide which country's liability laws would be most favourable.
Such laws allow a vessel owner to cap the amount of money it could be ordered to pay out, but only if the owner can prove it was far enough removed from any wrongdoing.
Twain Braden, a maritime lawyer in Maine, says he suspects OceanGate could have a difficult time proving it had no knowledge of the circumstances that may have caused the Titan to implode nearly four kilometres beneath the sea.
He says a letter signed by subsea engineers in 2018 flagging concerns about the vessel's lack of certification could become a problem for the company.
"In this case, they're on notice -- very specific notice -- about potential problems with the submersible," Braden said.
He said the situation and is sad and complex, adding that while "maritime law nerds" like himself are watching with keen interest, they're also heartbroken for the families of those who died.
Representatives from OceanGate Expeditions say they have no comment beyond a statement issued Thursday announcing the Titan's passengers were presumed dead. The company's CEO, Stockton Rush, was among them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2023.
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Models in uniquely designed red dresses are taking to the runway in British Columbia this weekend to make a powerful fashion statement about missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
The jury deciding the fate of a man responsible for a fatal firebombing in Sudbury found him guilty of three counts of first-degree murder Friday afternoon.
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
Mexican authorities said Friday that three bodies were recovered in an area of Baja California near where two Australians and an American went missing last weekend during an apparent camping and surfing trip.
Sadiq Khan, the Labour Party's mayor of London, appeared Saturday to be romping to victory as results from the capital pour in.
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
The United Nations food agency warned Sudan's warring parties Friday that there is a serious risk of widespread starvation and death in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan if they don't allow humanitarian aid into the vast western region.
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
Models in uniquely designed red dresses are taking to the runway in British Columbia this weekend to make a powerful fashion statement about missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
A group of lawyers has written what they call a groundbreaking book about how mental health is perceived in the legal profession.
A U.S. farmworker who caught bird flu after working with dairy cattle in Texas appears to be the first known case of mammal-to-human transmission of the virus, a new study shows.
Black youth in Canada face multiple barriers in getting access to mental health services — and health-care providers can make the situation more difficult, experts say.
It’s the first flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule with a crew on board, a pair of NASA pilots who will check out the spacecraft during the test drive and a weeklong stay at the space station.
Google's preeminence as an internet search engine is an illegal monopoly propped up by more than US$20 billion spent each year by the tech giant to lock out competition, U.S. Justice Department lawyers argued at the closings of a high-stakes antitrust lawsuit.
Many species of animals form social groups and behave collectively: An elephant herd follows its matriarch, flocking birds fly in unison, humans gather at concert events. Even humble fruit flies organize themselves into regularly spaced clusters, researchers have found.
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Quebec singing legend Celine Dion has praised a Montreal DJ for creating a mashup featuring one of her songs with U.K. producer Majestic.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
One of the organizers of a month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores says she met with the grocer's president and CEO Per Bank on Thursday afternoon.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Ontario is set to clamp down on bad employers with big fines. Labour Minister David Piccini says his government will introduce legislation next week that will see fines increased for violations of the Employment Standards Act.
When Damon Langlois visited the beach as a boy, he never would have imagined how significant sand would become in his life.
Two registered nurses from Ottawa and Kingston have been an integral part in the delivery of a baby on board a flight heading to Dubai.
Italy's Ministry of Health has banned the popular wellness trend of "puppy yoga" amid concerns that the puppies used in the practice could be exploited and mistreated.
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Tributes continue to pour in for Bob Cole as his family has confirmed a funeral will be held for the legendary broadcaster Friday in St. John's, N.L.
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime has advanced to his first ATP Masters final, and he hasn't had to play all that much tennis to do it.
Drivers in Saskatchewan will now lose their licence for a week and their vehicle for a month if they are caught committing certain high-speed and dangerous offences on the road.
Auto sales last month totalled 164,000 units, higher than April 2023, which was the weakest month for sales last year.
Rolls-Royce is vastly expanding its factory in Chichester, England. The BMW subsidiary is adding five new buildings with construction planned to start next year.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
Models in uniquely designed red dresses are taking to the runway in British Columbia this weekend to make a powerful fashion statement about missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
A 49-year-old man has been arrested following a deadly stabbing in Brampton earlier this month.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Netflix is set to begin filming a western series with a star-studded cast in Calgary this month. The Abandons, created by Kurt Sutter from Sons of Anarchy fame, follows “a group of diverse renegade families living on the fringes of society in 1850s Oregon.”
A major Alberta utility has cancelled a large wind power project in response to new government rules on where such developments can be built.
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Ottawa Fire Services says crews battled a fire that broke out in a bedroom in the same highrise that displaced hundreds of residents and sent three people to hospital in critical condition Thursday morning.
The Ottawa Farmers’ Market is bringing back its outdoor markets this May, featuring fresh produce sold by local vendors across five different locations in the city.
A group of lawyers has written what they call a groundbreaking book about how mental health is perceived in the legal profession.
The province has been pushing drivers to make the switch to electric vehicles (EVs) but it appears Quebecers aren't buying in. The latest numbers from the SAAQ show that the number of gas-powered vehicles hit a record high in 2023.
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
The Edmonton Oilers will face the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the National Hockey League post-season after Vancouver advanced with a 1-0 win over the Nashville Predators in Game 6 Friday, winning the best-of-seven opening-round series 4-2.
Netflix is set to begin filming a western series with a star-studded cast in Calgary this month. The Abandons, created by Kurt Sutter from Sons of Anarchy fame, follows “a group of diverse renegade families living on the fringes of society in 1850s Oregon.”
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Nova Scotia's NDP leader announced a program aimed at easing the cost of housing during a rousing campaign-style speech before the party's annual convention in Halifax today.
A 15-year-old boy, from the Bathurst region, has died following an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) collision in Beresford, N.B.
RCMP said they responded to a report of a single motor vehicle crash on Highway 289 on Wednesday around 10:09 p.m.
A 28-year-old Winnipeg man wanted for murder was arrested near Boychuk Drive and Briarwood Road in Saskatoon.
Greener pastures may be on the horizon for Manitoba farmers who say the recent rainfall has put them in good shape for this year’s growing season.
Winnipeg police say they have arrested two people in their 20s after a large amount of explosives were found in a home outside of Winnipeg, Man.
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
Premier Scott Moe's Saskatchewan Party has received millions of more dollars in donations compared with rivals ahead of this year's election.
After some gloomy and rainy days in the Queen City, there will be some sunshine heading into the weekend.
More than 100 teachers at the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) are learning they have been declared surplus will likely be out of a job as of Aug. 12.
People living in Puslinch, Ont. may have the answer to why their water smelled so bad last year.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
A 28-year-old Winnipeg man wanted for murder was arrested near Boychuk Drive and Briarwood Road in Saskatoon.
A lesser known fixture of Saskatoon's skyline is coming down for repairs and renovations.
The WHL Eastern Conference Final between the Saskatoon Blades and Moose Jaw Warriors has been full of see-saw momentum shifts, heart-stopping moments, and overtime heroes. Game 5 had all of the above.
The jury deciding the fate of a man responsible for a fatal firebombing in Sudbury found him guilty of three counts of first-degree murder Friday afternoon.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Shortly after 9 a.m. on May 3, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) found human remains in a wooded area near Katrine, Ont.
May the 4th traditionally marks Star Wars Day, and some London, Ont. area fanatics are expressing their love for the movie franchise.
The Canadian Olympic Committee hosted a free talent search in London, Ont. Saturday.
In case you missed it, CTV News London has compiled all the top local stories from this week into one video for your convenience.
OPP have laid multiple firearms related charges against two individuals in Orillia.
A Barrie man is facing multiple charges related to incidents of intimate partner violence that originated in the Township of Essa.
The annual Charlee's run fundraiser returned to Orillia on Saturday.
In case you missed it, CTV News Windsor has compiled all the top local stories from this week into one video for your convenience.
The Windsor Police Service has arrested a 17-year-old boy following an armed robbery in the city’s west end.
A lesson learned at school saved a life Thursday.
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Models in uniquely designed red dresses are taking to the runway in British Columbia this weekend to make a powerful fashion statement about missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
Models in uniquely designed red dresses are taking to the runway in British Columbia this weekend to make a powerful fashion statement about missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
An emaciated dachshund is now recovering thanks to a Good Samaritan who found the pup near a biking trail in Kelowna, according to the BC SPCA.
Animal shelters across the province are finding themselves frequently at capacity -- or more.
Lethbridge police say impaired driving is to blame in a fatal crash that killed a 25-year-old man on Thursday.
The bell at Erle Rivers High School in Milk River, Alta., will ring for the last time on June 26, as the 114-year-old school is scheduled to be torn down to make way for a new K-12 school.
The de-rostering of thousands of patients at the Group Health Centre in Sault Ste. Marie was the centre of attention at a town hall Friday organized by the Algoma chapter of the Ontario Health Coalition.
The Chi-Cheemaun ferry arrived at Manitoulin Island on Friday morning to kick off its 50th season on the Georgian Bay.
Phase 1 of the reconstruction of Queen Street in downtown Sault Ste. Marie is getting underway, although it will be scaled down from the original plan.
A funeral is being held today for hockey broadcasting legend Bob Cole in his hometown of St. John's, N.L.
Richard Martin is spending this year's fishing season on land after he says a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer broke his left leg in three places during a protest last month that shut down the provincial legislature.
Tributes continue to pour in for Bob Cole as his family has confirmed a funeral will be held for the legendary broadcaster Friday in St. John's, N.L.
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