The CEO of the Titan sub that was destroyed by a catastrophic implosion had a seven-word statement in regards to his creation before everyone on board died.
The catastrophic implosion of the OceanGate submersible was a tragic incident that took the world by storm in June 2023.
Stockton Rush, the CEO and driver of the sub had pioneered a new technology which aimed to be able to take passengers down to the depths of the titanic wreckage, but ultimately failed less than two hours into the expedition.
It was then that the mothership lost communication with the sub and all of its occupants, which included British adventurer Hamish Harding, Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
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While many believed there was still hope when a knocking sound deep under the ocean was reported to the press, it turned out that all passengers had not been alive as hoped.
However, there were numerous safety concerns flagged to Rush, specifically by the former director of marine operations, David Lochridge.
A transcript of a heated argument between Rush and Lockridge over those concerns revealed a sad statement that the CEO would utter.
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When Lochridge, who has taken part in the ongoing inquiry into the sub’s failure, said to Rush that he was worried, the CEO allegedly responded that ‘no one is dying under my watch’.
He added: “I have no desire to die… I think this is one of the safest things I will ever do.”
The US Coast Guard released the transcript as part of the inquiry, the BBC reported.
Lochridge explained that he was called to the meeting in January with the CEO after he put together a ‘quality inspection report’.
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He went on to say that he had found major issues with the design of the sub, as well as the way it had been tested, explaining in the meeting just months before the disaster would strike: “I am addressing what I view as safety concerns, concerns I have mentioned verbally… which have been dismissed by everybody.”
Rush then replied: “I’ve got a nice granddaughter. I am going to be around. I understand this kind of risk, and I’m going into it with eyes open and I think this is one of the safest things I will ever do.
“I can come up with 50 reasons why we have to call it off and we fail as a company. I’m not dying. No one is dying under my watch – period.”
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It was only a short while after that meeting that Lochridge was fired from his position with the company, but he wouldn’t let his fears go.
Instead, he contacted the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration to explain his safety concerns over OceanGate’s sub.
But according to Lochridge, the agency didn’t act on his concerns.
In the inquiry, Lochridge's concerns were echoed by other former OceanGate employees, and even the coast guard officials shared how the Titan hull wasn’t checked by a third-party.
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Lochridge also revealed that the sub was left in storage and exposed to the elements for seven months between 2022 and 2023.
Bonnie Carl, an employee at OceanGate, also went on to explained that there were ‘a couple of things that gave me pause’ when working on the sub, such as the O ring groove ‘looking odd’ as a scuba diver and that the engineering director wouldn’t show her paperwork for the sub’s acrylic dome.
Since the implosion, OceanGate has suspended all operations.
Topics: Titan submersible, News
Britt Jones