It's been over a year since the Titan submersible, on a deep-sea expedition to explore the wreck of the Titanic, imploded, killing all five individuals onboard. Now, testimonies from the first week of a US Coast Guard hearing have cast a damning spotlight on OceanGate, the Washington-based company behind the submersible, and its founder, Stockton Rush, who was also killed in the tragedy.
The company, which charged wealthy adventurers around $250,000 per dive, is now being scrutinised for prioritising profit over safety.
“What this really comes down to is hubris and greed,” Peter Girguis, a Harvard oceanographer, told CNN. He pointed out the grim parallels between the Titan disaster and the Titanic's sinking over a century ago. “It's both tragic and ironic that this hubris occurred within a few hundred metres of the Titanic, another emblem of human pride,” he said.
According to testimony, one of the last messages sent from the Titan came at 10:14 am local time in Newfoundland: “All good here.” Just 30 minutes later, at 10:47 am, the submersible reported it had “dropped two weights,” a possible indication of the crew's attempt to abort the mission. Six seconds after that, all contact was lost.
The final message and loss of communication came around 90 minutes into the dive. The Titan's wreckage was later found on the ocean floor, just hundreds of yards from the Titanic's remains.
Chris Roman, an expert in oceanography from the University of Rhode Island, stated how out of place the disaster was in the deep-sea exploration world. "It's not a cavalier, high-risk, daredevil event if done properly," Mr Roman said. "If you cut corners, it will bite you."
One of the hearing's key witnesses, David Lochridge, former director of marine operations at OceanGate, was concerned about the Titan's safety years before the tragedy. Mr Lochridge testified that OceanGate's focus was on "making money" rather than ensuring the vessel's safety, branding the company's operations as "smoke and mirrors."
He described a 2018 report in which he detailed serious safety issues, including concerns about the sub's viewport, which was certified for a depth of only 1,000 metres. OceanGate, however, intended to take the submersible to 4,000 metres - far beyond its certified capacity.
"They wanted to be able to qualify a pilot in a day, someone who had never sat in a submersible," Mr Lochridge testified. He said he was fired after raising these concerns.
Mr Lochridge also recounted a troubling incident during a 2016 dive to the Andrea Doria shipwreck, in which Stockton Rush allegedly panicked while piloting the Cyclops 1 submersible. Mr Lochridge testified that Rush had made multiple errors during the dive and that he had to intervene to bring the sub safely back to the surface. "Just remember I'm the CEO, you're just an employee," Mr Rush reportedly told him during one dive.
Meanwhile, Renata Rojas, a mission specialist, who was on board during that dive, gave a different account. She testified that no one panicked, and there was no shouting or swearing, as Mr Lochridge had claimed.
"I did not use any foul language," she said. "Nobody was really nervous. They were excited about what they were going to see."
Ms Rojas also spoke emotionally about the doomed Titan voyage. "They were just very happy to go. That's the memory I have," she said of the five passengers on the submersible's final dive.
OceanGate's approach to submersible design also came to focus during the testimony. Rather than going for an externally certified viewport, Stockton Rush had the window designed in-house and manufactured by a third party, a decision that raised safety concerns among industry experts.
Alfred McLaren, a retired Navy captain and friend of one of the victims, said that OceanGate had consistently avoided safety protocols to expedite missions to the Titanic.
"They did not build a safe vehicle," Mr McLaren testified. "They avoided all this to save money, to get down to Titanic as soon as they can, taking all these chances."
Stockton Rush, who was among those killed in the implosion, wanted to make deep-sea voyages more accessible to wealthy tourists, often at the expense of safety. Peter Girguis criticised this mindset, saying, "There are people willing to put their lives on the line to push the envelope. This is an example of someone who put their life on the line and the lives of four other people, and that part was reckless."
As the hearings continue, the investigation into the causes of the Titan disaster has revealed a pattern of negligence. OceanGate, which has since ceased operations, extended its condolences to the families of the victims and hoped that the ongoing hearings will "shed light on the cause of the tragedy."
