The undersea exploration company OceanGate Expeditionsbased in Everett, Washington, to which the missing person belongs Titan submarinecarries out annual trips – diving on the Titanic from 2021.

But the company knew very well that the Titan was not safe for this type of mission.

The 2018prior to the vessel’s delivery, OceanGate’s head of marine operations, David Lockridgehad compiled report on the risks and the need for more testingbefore it began diving with explorers who would pay $250,000 to live the once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“The vessel under construction more testing was needed and passengers may be at risk when it reaches extreme depths.”Lockridge and his team had warned the company.

In a letter to Stockton Rush, the company’s chief executive, who is among the 5 missing Titan passengers, they warned that the company’s “experimental” approach and its decision to bypass the normal assessment process could lead to “catastrophic” problems for the Titanic wreck missions” and the safety of the submarine’s passengers.

Lockridge’s concerns mainly focused on the company’s decision to rely on sensitive acoustic monitoring – noises or noises caused by the vessel’s hull under pressure – to detect defects, instead of scanning the hull.

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His company said that there was no equipment that could perform such a test in the 5-inch (12.7 cm) thick carbon fiber hull.

Lockridge’s objections to the submarine’s safety were now well known and in the same year OceanGate sued its director at the US District Court in Seattle, accusing him of violating the confidentiality agreement they had.

He himself testified counterclaim claiming that he was unfairly dismissed because it raised questions about testing and security.

The case was settled on undisclosed terms several months after it was filed.

All the information, according to the AP, is included in the documents in the case file.