Titan sub hearings live: Friend of OceanGate boss who said CEO ‘knew it would end like this’ to testify today
The US Coast Guard will hear testimony today from Stockton Rush’s friend, Karl Stanley
Your support helps us to tell the story
My recent work focusing on Latino voters in Arizona has shown me how crucial independent journalism is in giving voice to underrepresented communities.
Your support is what allows us to tell these stories, bringing attention to the issues that are often overlooked. Without your contributions, these voices might not be heard.
Every dollar you give helps us continue to shine a light on these critical issues in the run up to the election and beyond
Eric Garcia
Washington Bureau Chief
A friend of the late OceanGate boss who said the CEO "definitely knew it was going to end like this" is due to testify at the hearing into the Titan submersible disaster today.
Karl Stanley, the owner of a diving expedition company in Honduras and a close friend of Stockton Rush, went on the doomed submersible with his friend in 2019 and warned afterward how he heard a large cracking sound while on the dive.
The submersible imploded last June, killing all five people on board, including Rush.
Stanley was interviewed by 60 Minutes Australia last year where he said he’d warned Rush about taking customers on Titan.
“He definitely knew it was going to end like this," Stanley told the broadcaster. "He literally and figuratively went out with the biggest bang in human history that you can go out with."
In an email exchange with Rush, Stanley reportedly warned: “I think that hull has a defect near that flange, that will only get worse. The only question in my mind is will it fail catastrophically or not.”
Yesterday Guillermo Sohnlein, the co-founder of OceanGate, told the hearing into the disaster the cause of the accident may never be known.
Carbon fiber hulls are susceptible to ‘deformation’ Thomas states
The engineer from the American Bureau of Shipping has prepared a slideshow presentation for the panel detailing the challenges of carbon fiber materials.
He’s said carbon fiber is not an approved material for classification. Additionally, the Titan’s hull would have been susceptible to “deformation under applied external loading.”
Currently, there are no recognized national/international standards for carbon fiber pressure hulls for submersibles.
Stockton Rush once said ‘No-one is dying under my watch — period’
A transcript of a meeting between Rush and the former director of marine operations for OceanGate, David Lochridge, was made public ahead of the Coast Guard’s hearing on Monday.
The discussion captures Rush stating “No-one is dying under my watch - period,” after Lochridge raised safety concerns.
Rush responded: “I have no desire to die... I think this is one of the safest things I will ever do.”
Carbon fiber composites are not included in the list of ABS approved materials
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush infamously made the Titan’s pressure hull from carbon fiber but the material is not approved by the ABS for classification. Some of the concerns with carbon fiber included its ability to fail after repeated dives.
Additionally, it’s susceptible to damage, which can also cause it to fail.
ABS affiliation with OceanGate
Thomas says OceanGate was not involved with the ABS, never requested classification and did not submit a design review or surveys.
Roy Thomas says OceanGate never reached out to the American Bureau of Shipping about classification
A senior principal engineer with the American Bureau of Shipping has been sworn in as a witness.
Roy Thomas to be next witness
A senior principal engineer with the American Bureau of Shipping is scheduled to speak next. The agency is one of the few in the country that classify deep sea submersibles.
‘I don’t know what the right way is to regulate this kind of activity,’ says Sohnlein
After a Coast Guard official asks Sohnlein what he believes is the best way is to regulate submersibles, the co-founder says the topic is not in his “wheelhouse.”
He said dedicating resources to developing new regulations would be a “waste of taxpayer money” because there isn’t a current need. The submersible field is not an “industry,” Sohnlein said, adding there is currently at most 100 submersibles in the world.
Sohnlein says he left OceanGate because priorities switched
The co-founder says he transferred his CEO title to Stockton Rush once it became clear the company wanted to transition from operations to engineering.
Sohnlein says Rush wanted him to stay on but “it didn’t make sense for me stay,” he says, adding that it was beneficial to make Rush the CEO because of fundraising needs.
Sohnlein says he made $120k as CEO. Leaving was “one of the hardest decisions I had to make,” he says.
Sohnlein lays out early vision for OceanGate
When the co-founder first met with Stockton Rush in 2009, he said the pair wanted at least four to five submersibles available to charter around the world.
Rush was going to put in money and Sohnlein was going to run the business. They bought a “training-wheel sub” in order to study it and understand the technology, he says.
“Initially, we weren’t even going to build our own subs.”
The company bought its first sub from the Azores in January 2013, which later became “Cyclops,” OceanGate’s first submersible.
Sohnlein sworn in as witness
The OceanGate co-founder is testifying now.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments