A former employee of OceanGate, the maker of the Titan submersible that's missing while on a trip to view the wreckage of the Titanic, had sued the company over safety of the vessel's hull. The complaint was filed in 2018 by David Lochridge, who was fired by the company. The vessel has been missing since Sunday, along with a five-member crew. Among those on board is British businessman Hamish Harding, an aviator and space tourist, Pakistani businessman and one of the country's richest men and three other people.
According to court documents, Mr Lochridge was fired after he expressed concern about the submersible's safety, as per a CBS report. OceanGate took him to court, claiming Mr Lochridge breached his employment contract by disclosing confidential information.
Mr Lochridge countersued the company, alleging that he had been wrongfully terminated. He also claimed in the lawsuit that his intention was to ensure the safety of passengers on the submersible.
In his complaint, Mr Lochridge, who worked as director of marine operations at OceanGate, claimed he had raised alarms about the company's handling of the Titan and advised the company to conduct more testing of the vessel's hull.
As per Fox News, the complaint said that the viewport of the submersible was only built to a certified pressure of 1,300 meters, while OceanGate intended to take passengers down to depths of 4,000 metres.
"Rather than address Lochridge's concerns or undergo corrective action to rectify and ensure the safety of the experimental Titan, or utilise a standard classification agency to inspect the Titan, OceanGate did the exact opposite - they immediately fired Lochridge," said the counterclaim. "OceanGate gave Lochridge approximately 10 minutes to clear out his desk and exit the premises."
The document added that Lochridge believed the company could "subject passengers to potential extreme danger in an experimental submersible".
The submersible was reported missing less than two hours after it began diving towards the Titanic wreckage. OceanGate uses the submersible for its dives to the wreck, with seats priced at $250,000 apiece.
Rescuers are racing against time to find the deep-diving vessel as it has less than 40hours of oxygen left. The US and Canadian Coast Guards have deployed ships and planes in an intensive search for the vessel. Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick told reporters that the rescue operation is continuing over an area of 7,600 square miles, larger than the US state of Connecticut.
Meanwhile, rescuers using sonar to search for Titan, detected "underwater noises" in the area where the vessel vanished.
The submersible that takes tourists on a journey of a lifetime, nearly 2.4 miles below the surface of the sea, can travel at a speed of three knots and descend at 55 meters per minute.
