Titan sub hearing live: OceanGate volunteer said nobody was concerned until sub ‘was really overdue’ from dive
The testimony is part of the days-long hearings as authorities investigate the Titan sub disaster that captivated the globe
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A tearful mission specialist recounted collecting personal belongings from the victims of the OceanGate sub before it dove under the water and found tragedy.
Renata Rojas, the mission specialist from the US submersible company that operated the expedition, tearfully addressed the US Coast Guard Titan Marine Board of Investigations panel on Thursday. She talked about her role in preparing missions and her own trips down to the Titanic wreckage.
Once Rojas was finished, former OceanGate scientific director Dr Steven Ross spoke about a frightening mission that left him and other passengers at the surface unable to get out of the Titan submersible.
“The rest of the passengers tumbled about,” he said. “I ended up standing on the rear bulkhead. One passenger was hanging upside down.”
They were just two of the witnesses who have testified to the panel investigating the “catastrophic implosion” of the Titan submersible that killed all five passengers.
Earlier this week, David Lochridge, a former OceanGate employee, stated he had “no confidence whatsoever” with the Titan’s construction.
“It was inevitable something was going to happen. It was just a [question of] when,” the whistleblower said.
Ex HR director reveals the behind the scenes of mission specialist role
Carl, the head of HR for OceanGate, said there were two requirements she was aware of to become a mission specialist: being able to fit in the submersible and money.
While she said there were waivers and liability forms that mission specialists were supposed to sign, she said she had never seen anyone sign them, adding she “assumed” they would sign the forms before the expedition.
“When I was taking money, we hadn’t even finished building the Titan,” Carl told the panel.
Funds ‘immediately’ went toward operations: witness testifies
Most of the shareholders were friends of Stockton Rush, Carl testified.
She said she was unaware of any refunds if the expeditions were cancelled. “There was no money for refunds,” she said, adding that the funds were “immediately” used for operations.
Bonnie Carl takes the stand
The second witness is the director of human resources and finance at OceanGate. She is calling in remotely.
She told the panel about her background as an accountant.
WATCH: Titan crew's final three-word text revealed in haunting animation of submersible's journey
Nissen’s testimony concludes
After hours on the stand, Nissen’s testimony came to an end.
The Coast Guard panel is expected to hear from two other ex OceanGate employees today: Bonnie Carl, the former Human Resources/Finance director and Tym Catterson, a former contractor.
After the hearing, it was clarified that Tony Nissen was referring to a prototype carbon fiber hull created in 2016, which was never used on Titanic expeditions. After Nissen left OceanGate in 2019, the company manufactured a new carbon fiber hull, which was used on the Titanic expeditions.
Nissen discusses the ‘pressure’ felt to jumpstart operations
When asked if there was “pressure” to start operations, Nissen said: “100 percent.”
‘All good here’: Animation reveals haunting final text from crew
The MBI’s animation at the start of the hearing showed final communications between and the support vessel Polar Prince and the Titan before the implosion.
The animation highlighted the spotty communications in text bubbles.,
The Polar Prince sent repeated messages that largely went unanswered. One of Titan’s final responses was “all good here,” according to the animation.
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