The Coast Guard says 'recovery of items from the seafloor' is the current priority in its Titan sub investigation

• The US Coast Guard has convened its highest investigative board to probe the Titan submersible implosion.
• Captain Jason Neubauer told reporters the current priority is to recover debris from the seafloor.
• Neubauer said part of the investigation could involve recommending civil or criminal sanctions.

The US Coast Guard told reporters Saturday afternoon that "ongoing salvage operations" are underway at the site where the Titan submersible imploded.

"The priority of the investigation is to recover items from the seafloor," Captain Jason Neubauer said at a press briefing. "The resources are on site and capable of recovering the debris."

Neubauer said the Coast Guard declared a "major marine casualty" and convened a Marine Board of Investigation, known as an MBI, in response to the implosion that is presumed to have killed all five men aboard the OceanGate submersible. Neubauer explained that an MBI is "the highest level of investigation the Coast Guard conducts," and can recommend civil or criminal sanctions.

He said the investigation is also an opportunity to "learn from the incident" and improve regulations and safety standards around the use of submersibles.

The Titan went missing last week during a mission to visit the wreck of the RMS Titanic, and after a feverish four-day search-and-rescue effort, a Remotely Operated Vehicle found debris from the watercraft 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic. 

The men aboard the vessel included OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, French maritime expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British billionaire Hamish Harding, and British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, and Dawood's 19-year-old son Suleman.

On Saturday, Neubauer told reporters the MBI is in its initial evidence-collection phase, which includes salvaging debris at the site, and conducting interviews at the port in St. John's, Newfoundland, where the ship that launched the Titan is docked.

Both American and Canadian investigators are speaking with the 41 people who were aboard the Polar Prince last Sunday when it launched the Titan.

Neubauer told reporters that Coast Guard investigators have already mapped out the debris field from the implosion. In response to reporters' questions about whether any human remains might be recovered, Neubauer declined to provide details.

"We are taking all proper precautions on site if we are to encounter any human remains," he said.