The submersible had successful completed just 13 dives
The Titan submersible that imploded during a dive to view the Titanic killing everyone onboard, had only reached the depth of the wreckage on 14 per cent of its attempts, reports claim.
The success rate of reaching the required 12,500-foot depth was reportedly contained in the submersible owner’s four-page passenger liability waiver, which all four passengers had to sign before the OceanGate submersible’s mission began on June 18.
Communications were lost with the Titan one hour and 45 minutes after it set off, sparking a race against time to find the 21-foot-long vessel that had just 96-hours of emergency oxygen and limited rations on board.
However, the US Coast Guard later announced days later that the vessel has suffered a “catastrophic implosion” while diving to see the wreckage, and that everyone on board was dead: British billionaire Hamish Harding, 58, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, 61, French navy veteran Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Suleman, 19, who was “terrified” but went along as a Father’s Day gift.
The announcement came after debris had been found on the seabed, 1,600 feet (488 meters) from the bow of Titanic, which sank on 14 April 1912.
The passenger waiver, which was reviewed by the news outlet Insider, described the tourist vessel – steered by a video game controller – as “experimental” three times and said it successfully completed “as few as 13 dives” out of 90 to the famed site in the North Atlantic Ocean.
The document also mentioned “death” three times on the opening page, warning that guests could be subjected to “extreme pressure,” “unpredictable” conditions and high-pressure gases and high-voltage electrical systems.
According to Insider, OceanGate stated on its now archived website that it had completed more than 14 expeditions and 200 dives in the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf of Mexico using two subs — and had first successfully reached the Titanic in 2021.
Since the tragedy, OceanGate has suspended all exploratory and commercial operations.
The company has come under fire over its seemingly lax attitude in the face of repeated safety concerns.
David Lochridge, OceanGate’s former director of marine operations, has said he found “a lack of non-destructive testing performed on the hull of the Titan”, and in a lawsuit, claims he was fired for raising concerns.
The Marine Technology Society later sent a letter to OceanGate, warning that its experimental designs and refusal to follow industry-accepted safety protocols could lead to “catastrophic” results.
It has since emerged that Rush also made alarming comments about the submersible’s structure during an interview with Mexican travel blogger Alan Estrada, saying: “I think it was Gen. [Douglas] MacArthur who said, ‘You’re remembered for the rules you break,’” he said. “You know I’ve broken some rules to make this [the Titan]. I think I’ve broken them with logic and good engineering behind me.”
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