Friend of OceanGate CEO accuses him of murder and creating deadly 'mouse trap'

19 July 2023 , 16:20

579     0

Friend of OceanGate CEO accuses him of murder and creating deadly 'mouse trap'

A friend of Stockton Rush has sensationally accused the dead OceanGate CEO of knowingly murdering his billionaire clients and designing a 'mouse trap for billionaires.'

Submarine operator Karl Stanley was a close friend of Rush and one of the first passengers to test dive on Titan - and from his first trip, he knew Stockton Rush had built something sinister.

In an interview, Mr Stanley has claimed: "He [Stockton Rush] definitely knew it was going to end like this. He literally and figuratively went out with the biggest bang in human history that you can go out with. And who was the last person to murder two billionaires at once and have them pay for the privilege?"

Karl Stanley, a pro submarine driver, says that Rush knew his vessel was a 'mousetrap' (CBS)

The experimental submersible imploded on June 18th near the wreckage of the Titanic ship, which the 'crew' members had paid to see. It was Titan's fifth mission of the year and the only one that was supposed to actually make it to the ruins, as weather had prevented any other dives from going to those same depths.

Stanley starts off the interivew by saying, "I think Stockton was designing a mousetrap for billionaires. I literally painted a picture of his wrecked sub at the bottom [of the ocean], and even that wasn't enough."

Elon Musk makes history by becoming the first person in the world to lose $200bn

While many on the internet will undoubtedly turn that quote into another Titan meme - the testimony from Stanley, and plenty of others that worked with the submersible company has some very real implications. Repeatedly, more and more sources have come out to condemn OceanGate for ignoring expert warnings and failing to procure the necessary licencing and approval even to be underwater.

Stockton Rush often bragged about his 'innovative' strategies - but no other scientist would go near him

The world watched, entranced, as governments sent equipment and manpower to search the ocean for the five passengers aboard Stockton's mad-dream invention, wasting millions of taxpayers' dollars. It was announced on the fifth day that the Titan had imploded an hour and 45 minutes into its mission, and that the US military did register the anomaly. The underwater robots originally used to search for the submersible then had to fetch its remains.

The 'friend' and test driver, Stanley told cameras that he had spoken to Stockton about his concern and his very apt prediction that the sub was going to fail. “The only question is, ‘When?’ He was risking his life and his customers’ lives to go down in history. He’s more famous now than anything else he would’ve done."

Stanley, one of the first to dive on the Titan, says he hard creaking and 'gunshot' noises, and tried to warn the CEO (CNN)

While Stockton continually bragged about his 'innovative design,' which included carbon fibre rather than titanium, submarine experts begged him not to. In fact, Stockton routinely told interviewers that he was always being told that his sub would fail and bragging about how he'd be chased down for his design... eventually.

But Mr Stanley, who successfully dives and surfaces in a submersible vessel, told 60 Minutes Australia that the design was Stockton's undoing. "There’s no doubt in my mind that it was the carbon fibre tube that was the mechanical part that failed."

Stanley continued his interviews, saying that on one 12,000 ft dive, he heard "loud, gunshot-like noises … every three to four minutes.”

The former OceanGate logo, as the company has shut down amid investigations that say they had no business taking individuals underwater (AFP via Getty Images)

“That’s a heck of a sound to hear when you’re that far under the ocean in a craft that’s only been down that deep once before,” he added. That's when Stanley began warning Stockton, repeatedly.

“There is an area of the hull that is breaking down. It will only get worse,” are the haunting words Stanley wrote to Rush in 2019, candidly telling his friend that he had a severe lack of operating experience.

Like the rest of OceanGate's advisors have said, “If someone raised a safety concern[...] they were not only not listened to, they were silenced. That is such a toxic culture when it comes to safety, and it's the reverse of everything else I know and the maritime industry," revealed Stanley with a sad sigh.

Yelena Mandenberg