Rescue teams are engaged in a desperate race against the clock to locate Titan, the lost submersible carrying five individuals on a voyage to explore the Titanic wreckage.
The vessel, with only a few hours of oxygen remaining on board, lost contact during its journey to the submerged ruins located 12,500 feet below the surface.
As the search intensifies, it has come to light that several critical errors and oversights were made leading up to the disappearance.
CEO's controversial statements on safety
In a re-surfaced podcast with CBS, OceanGate CEO Rush Stockton about the submersible vessel he claims safety is a "pure waste".
The CEO is one of the five passengers that floated down into the depths of the ocean towards the Titanic wreck.
In the interview in November 2022, he said: , "You know, at some point, safety is just a pure waste. I mean, if you just want to be safe, don't get out of bed, don't get in your car, don't do anything.
"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 while breaking the rules.", he added at 17 minutes in to the episode.
Listen to the podcast episode here:
Delay in raising the alarm
Despite losing contact with its mother ship less than two hours into the expedition, Oceangate reportedly failed to notify the authorities until eight hours later.
The Polar Prince, carrying the submersible, set sail from St John's in Newfoundland on Sunday morning.
Within just one hour and 45 minutes into the expedition, communication was lost between the submersible and the transport vessel.
However, the US Coast Guard was not alerted until eight hours had elapsed since the communication breakdown.
A spokesman for the mothership which launched the missing submersible has defended OceanGate, saying it runs an “extremely safe operation”.
Questions were raised about the safety of the vessel, called Titan and run by OceanGate, during a press conference in Canada today (Wednesday 21 June)
Sean Leet, co-founder and chairman of Horizon Maritime Services, said: “OceanGate runs an extremely safe operation.
“Our full focus right now is getting that submersible located and getting those people brought back safely.”
He added: “We’re in constant contact with the crew of the Polar Prince.
“Our emergency procedures kicked in immediately.
“Our emergency room is staffed 24/7 with a group of extremely capable people and there’s live communication with the vessel at all times.
Lawsuit over sub's safety
Startling revelations have emerged regarding OceanGate's involvement in a significant lawsuit concerning worries about the submersible's safety.
Former employee David Lochridge claimed that he was terminated after raising concerns and demanding more rigorous safety checks be implemented on the submersible.
Court documents obtained by The Sun indicate that Lochridge contended that the vessel was not capable of descending to the extreme depths necessary for exploring the Titanic wreckage.
OceanGate retaliated by suing Lochridge, who held the responsibility for the safety of all crew and clients, for disclosing confidential information about the Titan. In turn,
Lochridge filed a counterclaim alleging wrongful termination as a whistleblower who exposed issues related to the quality and safety of the vessel. The case was settled out of court in November 2018.
Unconventional equipment and safety measures
The cramped carbon-fiber submersible, measuring just 22 feet long and 9 feet wide, features unconventional equipment and safety measures.
Question have been raised about its durability while under the extreme pressures of deep-sea depths, especially given the material is is made from.
It is steered using a gaming controller, resembling an Xbox-style controller.
The vessel lacks its own GPS system and relies on text messages sent via an acoustic system for guidance from the surface ship.
The submersible has no means of communication or escape without external assistance, with passengers sealed inside the main cabin by bolts that can only be removed from the outside.
Unregulated status of the submersible
It has been revealed that the Titan, the submersible used in the expedition, has not received approval from any regulatory body.
Passengers participating in the voyage, who pay nearly £200,000, must sign a contract acknowledging that the submersible is an experimental vessel.
The contract also explicitly states that the trip "could result in physical injury, disability, emotional trauma, or death."
Lack of emergency distress beacon
Concerns were raised about the lack of an emergency distress beacon on the surface vessel. Last year's expedition experienced difficulties due to the absence of this crucial safety device.
A distress beacon, when activated, alerts the global Search and Rescue (SAR) network, enabling rescuers to quickly locate the vessel. Journalist David Pogue highlighted this issue, stating, "This submersible does not have any kind of beacon like that. On my expedition last summer, they did indeed get lost, and adding such a beacon was discussed."
Disturbing accounts from previous passengers
Previous guests and journalists who have embarked on the trip have shared alarming accounts of radio failures and malfunctioning equipment on board the Titan.
Communication failures were reportedly common, leaving passengers at the mercy of weather conditions.
Passengers, including CBS Sunday Morning reporter David Pogue, were unable to witness the shipwreck after losing communication with the surface ship. In a resurfaced clip from the expedition,
Pogue explained, "There's no GPS underwater, so the surface ship is supposed to guide the ship to the shipwreck by sending text messages. But on this dive, communication somehow broke down. The sub never found the wreck."
As the search for the missing submersible continues, investigators will undoubtedly scrutinize these problems and blunders in order to shed light on the circumstances surrounding its disappearance.
A spokesman for the mothership which launched the missing submersible has defended OceanGate, saying it runs an “extremely safe operation”.
Sean Leet, co-founder and chairman of Horizon Maritime Services, which owns the Polar Prince mothership from which Titan launched, said: “OceanGate runs an extremely safe operation.
“Our full focus right now is getting that submersible located and getting those people brought back safely.”
He added: “We’re in constant contact with the crew of the Polar Prince.
“Our emergency procedures kicked in immediately.
“Our emergency room is staffed 24/7 with a group of extremely capable people and there’s live communication with the vessel at all times.
“We’ve got 17 people on board the ship.”
Mr Leet praised how quickly specialist marine craft have been scrambled to help in the search for the missing vessel.
He said: “I’ve been in the marine industry since a very young age and I’ve never seen equipment of that nature move that quickly.
“The response from the US Coast Guard, the US military, the folks at the airport, the people here – various companies were involved in the mobilisation, it was done flawlessly.”
Mr Leet added: “The marine industry in this region is no stranger to responding to difficult incidents, we work together to ensure every possible effort is put into bringing people home.
“The people on board Titan and their families are our focus, we care deeply about their wellbeing, all of us here in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, the United States and around the world are unified in this work.”
He added: “It has been a very difficult few days for the crew and families of those on board the Titan and the Polar Prince.
“The Polar Prince captain and crew have been steadfast in providing support during this very difficult time.”
Mr Leet also said they are “very aware of the time sensitivity around this mission”.
And he said some of the equipment at the site of the search for the missing Titan vessel is “certainly capable of reaching those depths” where Titan is presumed to be.
