OceanGate give update weeks after 5 died in Titanic sub implosion

06 July 2023 , 16:56
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OceanGate give update weeks after 5 died in Titanic sub implosion
OceanGate give update weeks after 5 died in Titanic sub implosion

OCEANGATE has suspended all exploration and commercial operations weeks after the Titan submarine implosion that left CEO Stockton Rush and four other passengers dead.

The sub lost communication during a dive into the Titanic wreck just an hour and 45 minutes after submerging in the North Atlantic Ocean off Newfoundland, Canada, on June 18.

OceanGate has shut down operations nearly a month after the deadly Titan submarine tragedy eiqtiqqidqdprw
OceanGate has shut down operations nearly a month after the deadly Titan submarine tragedyCredit: Getty
Five people, including CEO Stockton Rush (pictured top right), died after the submersible imploded below the ocean's surface
Five people, including CEO Stockton Rush (pictured top right), died after the submersible imploded below the ocean's surfaceCredit: AFP
OceanGate sold $250,000 for passengers to descend 13,000 feet below the surface and view the wreckage of the Titanic
OceanGate sold $250,000 for passengers to descend 13,000 feet below the surface and view the wreckage of the TitanicCredit: Reuters

OceanGate was at the center of a media firestorm after its submersible remained missing for days while multiple agencies attempted to search thousands of feet under the ocean.

The company touted a pricey $250,000 journey that took a select few 13,000 feet below the surface to view the wreckage of the Titanic.

Adding to the intense drama was the impressive cast of passengers which consisted of Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, successful businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman, and French diver Paul-Henry Nargeolet.

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The shocking deaths sparked a conversation about the safety of the journey with multiple passengers sharing horror stories of past expeditions that were plagued with life-threatening issues.

A former finance director of the company said she quit after she was asked to be head pilot on the sub.

"It freaked me out that he would want me to be head pilot, since my background is in accounting. I could not work for Stockton. I did not trust him," the unnamed former employee told The New Yorker.

David Lochridge, who was OceanGate's former director of marine operations, was allegedly fired after trying to voice similar concerns in 2018.

He said in an email obtained by the outlet: "I don't want to be seen as a tattle tale but I'm so worried he kills himself and others in the quest to boost his ego."

He claimed that the company retaliated after he flagged concerns over OceanGate's alleged "refusal to conduct critical, non-destructive testing of the experimental design."

Onlookers have drawn comparisons to the original sins of the Titanic crash, which saw the deaths of an unprecedented 1,500 people after a series of fatal decisions were made.

Director James Cameron, who immortalized the failures of the hyper-rich leaders in his film Titanic, watched in horror as history repeated itself.

"I'm struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship, and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field on a moonless night and many people died as a result," Cameron told ABC News.

"For us, it's a very similar tragedy where warnings went unheeded.

Brit 'astronaut' who holds 3 world records named as passenger on missing subBrit 'astronaut' who holds 3 world records named as passenger on missing sub

"To take place at the same exact site with all the diving that's going on all around the world, I think it's just as astonishing. It's really quite surreal."

OceanGate conducted over 14 expeditions and more than 200 dives before suspending operations, according to its website.

Israel Salas-Rodriguez

Titanic tourist submarine

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