Titan sub hearings live: OceanGate co-founder says the cause of implosion that killed five may never be known
The US Coast Guard is holding its fifth day of hearings into the OceanGate tragedy
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Guillermo Sohnlein, the co-founder of the company whose submarine imploded on a trip to see the wreckage of the Titanic, killing all five people on board, has told a hearing into the disaster the cause of the accident may never be known.
Sohnlein and Stockton Rush founded the company in 2009. Rush was among the five people who died when the submersible imploded in June 2023.
The former CEO left the company in 2013 but after the submersible’s implosion, he defended his former business partner. Sohnlein told investigators he wants the world to honor his friends by continuing deep-sea exploration.
Roy Thomas, a senior principal engineer with the American Bureau of Shipping, provided testimony on the nuances of carbon fiber materials used to make the Titan’s hull. He said OceanGate never made any attempts to classify their vessel with the agency, one of the main regulators for submersibles in the world.
Had it been recognized, the vessel would have undergone several assessments ensuring its safety. Rush once called classification “an impediment to innovation” and told an employee getting inside Titan is “one of the safest things I will ever do,” adding, “no-one is dying under my watch — period.”
‘I felt brushed to the side’ former contractor says
During a dive in 2022, Wilby says a customer reported a “loud bang.”
The noise heard during one of OceanGate’s expeditions has become a frequent talking point throughout the hearings.
While debriefing following the incident, Wilby says customer reported hearing a “loud bang” that was “as loud as an explosion.” Stockton Rush “shut it down” she said. One crew member on a boat above the water said he could hear the noise from the surface.
The OceanGate team later discovery the carbon fiber hull had moved.
Antonella Wilby is being sworn in to testify
Antonella Wilby, another contractor for OceanGate, is now testifying about her experience with the company.
Lahey released as witness
The co-founder of Triton Submarines has been released as a witness. The panel is taking a quick break and will reconvene at 3pm ET.
Stockton Rush called classification ‘an impediment to innovation’, Lahey says
Patrick Lahey says he made it clear to OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush that he was against his company’s decision to not certify the Titan submersible.
In one conversation, Lahey says Rush called classification “an impediment to innovation.”
Triton Submarines co-founder calls incident where Titan front dome fell off ‘ridiculous'
During one of the Titan’s 13 dives to the Titanic, the front dome fell off when the submersible was brought out of the sea.
Lahey called the incident “ridiculous.” If it had happened to one of his vessels, he would’ve barred the machine from operating, he said, and reported the issue to the classifying agency.
Titan experienced 118 equipment issues in 2021 and 2022.
Lahey says he wasn’t ‘impressed’ by Titan sub
Lahey, the co-founder of Triton Submarines, says he managed to see the Titan sub while in the Bahamas in 2019.
“I wasn’t impressed by what I saw,” he said of the submersible. “A lot of things I thought had not been executed appropriately.”
OceanGate bought two submersibles from Lahey, he says
Lahey says that the company bought two submersibles from him. Both of the submersibles had been classified when they were bought.
“I don’t know what happened to the certification,” he said.
Lahey testifies about the importance of certification
“Certification is a process that never ends,” Lahey says. “It continues through the lifetime of the vehicle.”
There are specific requirements that need to be met every year, Lahey says. Submersibles could be certified by the US Navy or American Bureau of Shipping, but there is no agency specifically tasked with clearing the vessels.
Stockton Rush decided against having the Titan submersible certified, which brought OceanGate much criticism from the deep-diving community.
Patrick Lahey, co-founder and CEO of Triton Submarines, is being sworn in
Lahey and entrepreneur Larry Connor began planning their own deep sea expedition about a year after the Titan tragedy.
Dyer released as witness
The university engineer has been released as a witness from the hearing. The panel is currently on a lunch break and will return at 1pm ET with testimony from Patrick Lahey, the CEO of Triton Submarines.
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