As search teams scour the North Atlantic to find a missing submersible with five tourists aboard, one in-house engineer said the expedition was potentially at great risk and never should have launched without rigorous testing of the vessel.
He also alleged that the company that owned the vessel fired him for speaking up.
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The Titan submersible set off from Newfoundland on June 16, looking to descend approximately three miles to investigate the wreck of the Titanic, which sunk in April 1912 after hitting an iceberg.
On June 18, the Titan launched its descent to the Titanic, and within hours, the surface vessel lost communications with the submersible. The Titan’s been out of contact ever since, reported OceanGate Expeditions, which owns the submersible.
Now David Lochridge, former OceanGate director of marine operations, said he lost his job over issuing a report questioning the safety of the vessel five years ago.
That report focused on safety issues with the submersible and on warnings ignored by OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush. The report was included in a court filing first published by Insider and New Republic in U.S. District Court in Seattle, WA, following a lawsuit by OceanGate against Lochridge in November, 2018.
The company alleged that Lochridge breached his employment contract by sharing confidential information with the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration. OceanGate stated Lochridge “filed a false report claiming he was discharged in retaliation for being a whistleblower.”
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In the Titan safety report’s introduction, Lochridge reportedly stated, “Now is the time to properly address items that may pose a safety risk to personnel. Verbal communication of the key items I have addressed in my attached document has been dismissed on several occasions, so I feel now I must make this report so there is an official record in place.”
His report cited “numerous issues that posed serious safety concerns” and “visible flaws” in the manufacturing quality of the OceanGate vessel, particularly the hull.
Lochridge also balked at OceanGate’s reliance on its acoustic monitoring system designed to warn of any issues with the high pressure the submersible might encounter on its descent.
Without proper testing, Lochridge stated the Titan crew may only have “milliseconds” before the vessel imploded, the lawsuit noted.
Lochridge claimed he called for more testing on the Titan’s engineering quality, the court filing added.
The morning after he write the report, the filing said Lochridge was called into a meeting with company executives, and after informing them he would not authorize the vessel’s usage without further testing, he was dismissed from the company.
In that same meeting, Lochridge claimed the company failed to directly address his safety warnings and his call for more testing on the submersible.
"Rather than address his concerns or undergo corrective action to rectify and ensure the safety of the experimental Titan, or utilize a standard classification agency to inspect the Titan, OceanGate did the exact opposite -- they immediately fired Lochridge," the court filing noted.
The lawsuit was settled out of court in late 2018 and to date, neither party has commented on the outcome.
