The Coast Guard hearings on the Titan submersible tragedy began last week. We learned last week from a former employee of concerns about the structural integrity of the submersible.  Here are more news and videos to watch about the hearings. So far, the picture of the company is not a good one.

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Lepore, Stephen M. “OceanGate Co-founder Reveals Truth About Sub Disaster That Killed Five.” Mail Online. Last modified September 24, 2024. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13884119/OceanGate-founder-reveals-sad-truth-Titan-sub-disaster-killed-five-excursion-Titanic.html.

The man who co-founded OceanGate with Stockton Rush has revealed the answers to what really went wrong on the Titanic excursion may never be known.  Guillermo Sohnlein told a Coast Guard panel Monday that he can’t say what exactly led to the submersible implosion in June 2023 that killed five people.  “I don’t know what happened. I don’t know who made what decision when and based on what information,’ he said. ‘And honestly, I don’t know if any of us will ever know this, despite all of your team’s investigative efforts.’ Sohnlein could only say that the incident, which claimed the lives of adventurer Hamish Harding, father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood and Frenchman Paul-Henri Nargeolet, ‘was not supposed to happen.’

Key points

• Testified that OceanGate was planning on building 8 such submersibles and would not use a mothership to cut costs.
• Contradicted testimony of former employee David Lochridge, who alleged OceanGate was all about profit. Said company was not driven by the idea of tourism or Titanic, which had already been explored.
• Said Rush Stockton, who died in the implosion, was confident in the submersible.
• Coast Guard released a 2018 redacted transcript between Stockton and Lochridge. Stockton insists he listened to his criticisms and that Lochridge was unhappy with the results. Stockton insisted the submersible was safe.

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6abc Philadelphia. “Footage Shows ROV Trying to Salvage Titan Submersible Wreckage.” Video. YouTube, September 23, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-RC9HZPlGM.

The Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) releases remotely operated vehicle footage of the Titan submersible’s salvage from June 26, 2023, for the Titan MBI hearing in North Charleston, South Carolina, Sept. 23, 2024. As part of the investigation, the wreckage was recovered and transported to a secure facility for detailed analysis. (Video courtesy of Pelagic Research Services)

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“Titan Company Co-founder Says Goal Was to Create Fleet of Subs, ‘Give Humanity Greater Access to the Ocean.’” CBS News. Last modified September 23, 2024. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/titan-sub-oceangate-cofounder-goal-fleet-submersibles-guillermo-sohnlein/.

Businessman Guillermo Sohnlein, who helped found OceanGate with Stockton Rush, said the original vision was to create a fleet of four or five deep-diving submersibles capable of carrying five people to 6,500 yards deep. The plan for the company was to have no dedicated mothership.

“We wanted to give humanity greater access to the ocean, specifically the deep ocean,” Sohnlein said. Sohnlein ultimately left the company before the Titan disaster in June 2023. Rush was among the five people who died when the submersible imploded. Though Sohnlein left the Washington company years ago, he defended its efforts in the aftermath of the submersible’s implosion.

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Sanchez, Ray, and Graham Hurley. “A Haunting Final Message and Other Takeaways From the Coast Guard Inquiry Into the Titan Submersible Implosion.” CNN, September 22, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/22/us/titan-submersible-hearing-takeaways/index.html.

More than a year after the Titan submersible imploded, killing all five voyagers on board, the story of the ill-fated expedition to the Titanic has taken the form of a modern-day Greek tragedy overflowing with mortal pride and heedlessness. Testimony during the first week of a hearing by a US Coast Guard panel probing the disaster has painted a damning portrait of the Washington-based company that developed and operated the 23,000-pound submersible as well as its founder – who charged deep-pocketed passengers about $250,000 per dive. “What this really comes down to is hubris and greed,” Peter Girguis, a Harvard University professor and oceanographer who has been monitoring the hearing, told CNN. “It’s both tragic and ironic that this example of hubris occurred within a few 100 meters or yards of another example of hubris, which is the Titanic,” he added, referring to another infamous maritime disaster involving what was the largest passenger ship in service and considered “unsinkable” when it struck an iceberg in 1912.

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“Passenger on a Previous Titan Sub Dive Says His Mission Was Aborted Due to Apparent Malfunction.” Reviewonline.Com, September 20, 2024. https://www.reviewonline.com/uncategorized/2024/09/passenger-on-a-previous-titan-sub-dive-says-his-mission-was-aborted-due-to-apparent-malfunction/.

The Titan appeared to be off course on its way to the Titanic, so the crew decided to use thrusters so the submersible could make its way to the wreck, Hagen said. The starboard thruster failed to activate, he said. “We realized that all it could do was spin around in circles, making right turns,” Hagen said. “At this juncture, we obviously weren’t going to be able to navigate to the Titanic.” Hagen said the Titan dropped weights, resurfaced and the mission was scrapped. He said he was aware of the potentially unsafe nature of getting in the experimental submersible. “Anyone that wanted to go was either delusional if they didn’t think that it was dangerous, or they were embracing the risk,” he said.

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WFAA. “VIDEO: OceanGate Titan Submersible Hull Wreckage Found at Bottom of the Ocean.” Video. YouTube, September 18, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSJek-AKNMM.

The U.S. Coast Guard released new footage of the doomed OceanGate Titan submersible’s hull filmed via a remotely operated vehicle at the bottom of the ocean.

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