Dead OceanGate Expeditions CEO Stockton Rush says Titan’s safety ‘unfounded cries’ – President Titanic International Society: Should expeditions to the wreck be stopped?
OceanGate Expeditions’ Dramatic, Prophetic Titan Submarine Safety Warnings were rejected repeatedly by the company’s chief executive, Stockton Rush, his correspondence with a leading deep-sea exploration expert shows.
Stockton Rush was killed instantly in the icy waters of the Atlantic along with the other four passengers of the Titan, as the submarine broke apart due to catastrophic decompression near the wreck of the Titanic.
In emails seen by the BBC, Rob McCallum warned Rush that he was potentially putting his clients at risk, and urged him to stop using the sub until certified by an independent body.
Russ responded that he was “tired of industry players trying to use a safety argument to stop innovation”.
The tense exchange of messages ended after OceanGate’s lawyers threatened legal action, Mr McCallum said.
Read more: Titanic International Society President: Should expeditions to the wreck be stopped?
“I believe you are potentially putting yourself and your clients in a dangerous dynamic,” the expert wrote to OceanGate’s boss in March 2018.
“In your race to the Titanic you reflect that famous statement: ”He is unsinkable”” he added, prophetically recalling the “unsinkable ship” reference.
In the messages, Mr Rush expressed his frustration at criticism of Titan’s security measures, writing in an email: “We have heard the baseless cries too often. “you’re going to kill someone”. I consider it a serious personal insult.”
McCallum told the BBC he had repeatedly urged the company to seek certification for the Titan before using it for commercial tours. The boat was never certified or registered.
“Until it is certified, tested and proven (its ability in practice), should not be used for commercial deep diving work,” he wrote in an email.
“I’m asking you to exercise every care in your testing and be very, very conservative,” he added. “As much as I appreciate entrepreneurship and innovation, you’re potentially putting an entire industry at risk.”
In his response a few days later, Rush claimed that OceanGate’s “mechanistic, innovative approach…comes up against with “underwater orthodoxy”, but that’s the nature of innovation.”
“I trusted Russ completely despite the disagreements”
At the same time, however, the co-founder of OceanGate Expeditions, which owned the Titan submersible, insisted that Stockton Rush was meticulous about security and risk management.
Guillermo Scheinlein co-founded OceanGate with Stockton Rush in 2009, but left in 2013 retaining a small percentage of the shares. Stockton Rush was the skipper of the Titan on the fateful mission that began on Sunday and ended in tragedy.
“Stockton was one of the most insightful risk managers I have come across. Avoid the risk. He was acutely aware of the dangers of an expedition to the depths of the ocean and he was focused on safety,” says Schenlein to the Reuters agency.
Questions about the safety of the Titan submersible were raised in 2018 during a symposium with industry experts and after a lawsuit filed by a former OceanGate executive that was settled a few months later.
Scheinlein emphasizes that he trusted Russ completely, although “there were disagreements” at times. “I think every innovation of his has had two goals: On the one hand, to expand the possibility of exploration in the depths of the oceans, and on the other hand, to achieve it with the maximum possible safety,” he told Reuters.
OceanGate has not provided an explanation to industry experts about its decision to refuse certification by third parties such as the American Bureau of Shipping or DNV, respectively.
The lack of certification does not mean that there is no safety, argues Schenlein, who urges the public not to speculate and wait for the official opinion of experts on the causes of the accident.
Despite the tragedy, he believes it is vital for humanity to continue exploring the depths of the oceans, arguing that this would be the best tribute to the memory of the victims. “After we find out the mistakes that were made, let’s learn from them, and let’s go down there again,” says Guillermo Schönlein.
Sources: BBC – AMPE
Source :Skai
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