Who voluntarily risks their life in an untried Titanic “elevator”? Four people did and are now missing. They were led by an entrepreneur who prides himself on building his submarine from primitive materials.
Where the Titanic sleeps, almost nothing survives. The wreck of the sunken luxury ship is hundreds of kilometers off the American coast in the Atlantic Ocean at a depth of 3,800 meters. It is a dark and above all misanthropic place.
There are only a few submarines in this world that can safely penetrate these realms. According to experts and former expedition members, the now-missing “Titan” is not one of them. Industry experts have stated that certified deep water vessels use only steel or titanium to ensure their hulls can withstand the pressures of the deep sea.
The “Titan” does not, it also installed carbon fiber. The material is widely regarded as untested: if it fails, it could have catastrophic consequences.
Parts from the construction market
On Sunday, however, four wealthy people voluntarily squeezed into the nearly seven-meter-long capsule, which offers little room to move and has not been checked by independent authorities. The price for the journey to the depths of the Atlantic Ocean: almost 225,000 euros per person.
It is now known that the tour will be led by the boss himself, Stockton Rush. The OceanGate founder has bragged to journalists in the past that he built the submarine with “camping” parts and is operated with a cheap game controller – but there are several in case one should fail.
In November 2022, Rush told CBS that the DIY submarine was built with “off-the-shelf components”:
In one video, Rush — whose last name aptly translates to “rush” or “rush” — points to a lighting system inside and proudly explains, “We can use these components off the shelf. I got them from Camping World.” Reporter David Pogue noted that parts of the submarine looked “makeshift.” But Rush assured the ship was “safe” even if parts failed, with only unimportant parts out of the closet.
warnings and a lawsuit
Already in 2018, the Marine Technology Society warned in a letter of possible “catastrophic” problems in the development of the “Titan”. The industry group, made up of marine engineers, technologists, policy makers and educators, expressed “concern about the development of Titan and the proposed Titanic expeditions” and warned about OceanGate’s “current experimental approach”.
During the same period, the company parted ways with its Director of Marine Operations, David Lochridge. He said he was fired after concerns about the ship’s safety. Lochridge sued after his firing and later settled out of court with Rush.
In a 2019 blog post, Rush’s company explained why the “Titan” shouldn’t go through a classification process. According to OceanGate, such procedures would do little to weed out “inferior ship operators”. In any case, “human” operator errors are responsible for the vast majority of accidents.
But probably the biggest reason was: the brake on innovation. “Keeping an outside agency informed about an innovation before it is tested in the field is anathema to rapid innovation,” the blog post reads.
Rush: Anyone can operate Boot
According to Rush, any 16-year-old can operate his submarine. “It should work like an elevator,” he told CBS. Therefore, there is only one control button in the entire interior of the capsule. It’s not clear if Titan has since received industry certification, but in 2022, a CBS News reporter who was scheduled to travel on the ship reported that the waiver he signed read, “This experimental ship has not been approved by any regulatory body. ” or certified. ”
But it is also clear that the “Titan” was operating in international waters and offering its services in a quasi-lawless area. Former passengers, such as Mike Reiss, reported being made aware of the potential hazards. He described to the BBC: “You sign a waiver before entering which mentions death three times.”
According to Reiss, the company would learn “gradually”. “I’ve done three different dives with this company and you almost always lose communication.” On Sunday it became quiet after 45 minutes. The Polar Prince mothership failed to establish communications at 09:45. However, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, the alarm was not raised until 5:45 p.m. — a full eight hours later. Experts believe that at this point the construction boat had reached a depth of about 3,500 meters, with every square centimeter of the structure subjected to a force of more than two tons.
At the time of writing this article, the crew has about 20 hours of oxygen left – if they’re alive. Even if the vehicle floats on the surface, the crew cannot get out on their own. Before the dive, the boat is bolted from the outside. Then a team on the surface must open the hatch. Ex-submarine driver Weber spoke of an iron coffin.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
