On June 18th, 2023, Titan, a submersible operated by the American tourism and expeditions company OceanGate, imploded during an expedition to view the wreck of the Titanic. More than a year after the event, where all five passengers, charged at about $250,000 per dive were killed, the US Coast Guard is conducting a two-week hearing.
The founder and CEO of the vessel’s operator, Stockton Rush; businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman Dawood; businessman Hamish Harding; and French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet were all killed. Earlier this month, OceanGate’s former Operations Director told the panel that the deaths could have been prevented if safety officials had investigated concerns he previously raised. Experts warned Rush to get Titan certified from a safety organisation, citing concerns with materials used to construct it.
David Lochridge, former OceanGate Marine Operations Director said: “The whole idea behind the company was to make money. That’s it. There was very little in the way of science.” Lochridge testified that Rush ignored safety concerns he raised about the Titan after inspecting it in 2018. Lochridge stated that he had “no confidence whatsoever,” in the way that the Titan was being built at the time and that he had been “very vocal about that.” Lochridge was allegedly fired in 2018, after relaying his concerns. Notably, Rush had previously stated that he had “broken some rules to make this.”
The Titan lost contact with its mothership on the morning of June 18, after one of the final messages from the submersible was delivered at 10:14: “all good here”. Days later, authorities found its wreckage on the floor of the North Atlantic Ocean.
OceanGate has faced increasing scrutiny of its operations in recent years, amid reports of safety issues. Former employees described the company as one that “cut corners”. Until that day, a manned deep-ocean submersible had never imploded, according to industry experts.
