The founder of the company which operates the missing Titanic tourist submarine complained about “obscenely safe” regulations holding the industry back years before he found himself at the centre of disaster.
The CEO of OceanGate Expeditions Stockton Rush is one of five passengers onboard the Titan submersible that disappeared on Sunday on its way to the wreck of the HMS Titanic.
As of Wednesday, the vessel is believed to have less than 24 hours of oxygen supply, as rescue teams race against the clock to bring the Titan back to the surface.
Follow the latest updates on the missing Titanic submarine here
In 2019, the Smithsonian Magazine profiled Mr Rush, who said government regulations had curbed innovation and growth in the US commercial submarine industry.
“There hasn’t been an injury in the commercial sub industry in over 35 years. It’s obscenely safe, because they have all these regulations,” Mr Rush, then 57, said.
“But it also hasn’t innovated or grown – because they have all these regulations.”
One of the laws cited in the article is the Passenger Vessel Safety Act of 1993, which outlines extensive safety standards that must be met for passenger carriages or tourist submarines.
Mr Rush’s comments were part of a larger discussion about government spending that prioritised space exploration over ocean research.
The Independent has contacted OceanGate Expeditions for comment on the profile.
The company’s website claims the five-person submersible is designed for dives up to depths of 4,000m (13, 123-ft), thanks to its “ground-breaking engineering and off-the-shelf technology” and an “unparalleled” hull-monitorning safety system.
OceanGate Expeditions began advertising its crewed missions to the site of the Titanic’s wreckage, at about 3,800m, in 2019.
After expeditions in 2021 and 2022, it began advertising the summer 2023 dive that has now triggered the desperate rescue mission led by the US Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard.
On Tuesday, it emerged that Mr Rush was sued for fraud by a Florida couple who claimed OceanGate cancelled their planned 2018 voyage to the Titanic, and refused to refund their money.
As per the lawsuit filed in Orange County, Florida this February, Marc and Sharon Hagle accused Mr Rush of swindling them of $210,258, which was the cost of securing two berths on a trip to the North Atlantic shipwreck.
An OceanGate Expeditions spokesperson told The Independent they had no comment about the lawsuit.
Commenting on the missing Titan submersible in a statement to the Daily Beast, Mr Hagle said: “My thoughts go out to the owners of OceanGate, the people that are on the submersible, both the crew and the guests. And we’re hoping for a miracle and that everybody comes home safely.
“I think the pleadings speak for themselves.”
According to a 2018 lawsuit, a former OceanGate employee claimed he was fired for raising concerns about possible safety issues with the Titan that “paying passengers would not be aware of”.
After he was asked to perform a safety inspection of the submersible by Mr Rush, David Lochridge highlighted a “lack of non-destructive testing performed on the hull of the Titan”.
He alleged he was “met with hostility and denial of access to the necessary documentation” to complete his inspection, but submitted a report on 18 January 2018 nonetheless.
During a meeting with OceanGate’s top brass the following day, Mr Lochridge recommended OceanGate voluntarily apply for regulation and classification through an independent agency such as the American Bureau of Shipping.
According to Mr Lochridge, he was given “10 minutes to immediately clear out his desk and exit the premises” after the meeting.
His claims were made in a countersuit against his former employer, who accused him of breach of contract, fraud, and revealing trade secrets. The case was settled out of court in November 2018.
OceanGate’s attorney in the case, Thomas Gilman, declined Reuters’ request for comment.
An attorney for Mr Lochridge also declined comment, other than to say, “we pray for everyone’s safe return”.
