Rosario Monachino
OceanGate’s Stockton Rush made an astonishing confession about Titan’s safety before it vanished.
The vessel took five passengers on an excursion to see the wreckage of the famous ship that sank in 1912 on Sunday.
Roughly one hour and 45 minutes into its journey it lost connection with the US Coast Guard – leading to ships from all over the world being drafted in to search for the missing submarine.
Sadly, it has since been confirmed by the Coast Guard that all passengers have died after debris from the ship has been found.
Safety concerns were allegedly raised about the OceanGate vessel before it went missing. Find out more before…
The submarine carried British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding, 58, Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Suleman Dawood, 19, French submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77 and Oceangate’s CEO and founder Stockton Rush, 61.
Despite being the founder of the company that made the vessel, Rush had astonishingly previously admitted that he had fears of the submarine getting stuck underwater and not being able to reach the surface.
Speaking on the Unsung Science podcast – which is hosted by CBS journalist David Pogue – last year, Rush said: “What I worry about most are things that will stop me from being able to get to the surface.
“Overhangs, fish nets, entanglement hazards. And, that’s just a technique, piloting technique.
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“It’s pretty clear – if it’s an overhang, don’t go under it. If there is a net, don’t go near it. So, you can avoid those if you are just slow and steady.”
Even though Rush had worries, he did defend his company’s vessel after he was pressed about the safety of the ship.
The CEO continued: “You know, at some point, safety just is a pure waste. I mean, if you just want to be safe, don’t get out of bed.
“At some point, you’re going to take some risk, and it really is a risk/reward question. I think I can do this just as safely by breaking the rules.”
Tickets for the tour to the infamous ship reportedly cost $250,000 (£195,000) – it was supposed to be an eight-day trip that included dives to the wreck at a depth of 3,800m (12,500ft).
It has been reported that an ROV (remotely operated vehicle) discovered the tail cone of the Titan submarine – which was located 1600ft from the bow of the Titanic wreck.
It was found in an area where there is no debris from the renowned ship’s wreckage.
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Officials added that five major pieces from the Titan have been detected among the debris.
This includes a nose cone, outside the pressure hull, and a larger debris field, as reported by the BBC.
An investigation is set to continue to find out exactly what happened to the vessel.
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