Jun 21, 2023 12:45:00

The safety of the tourist submersible that disappeared near the Titanic was questioned from the early stages of development

Although it was aiming for the sinking point of the luxury liner '

Titanic ' that sank in 1912, the tourist submersible 'Titan' disappeared on June 19, 2023. Safety was a concern from the development stage, and at that time A former employee's accusation reveals that the employee continued to ignore the danger to the parent company, OceanGate Expeditions, many times.

Missing Titanic Sub Once Faced Massive Lawsuit Over Depths It Could Safely Travel To | The New Republic
https://newrepublic.com/post/173802/missing-titanic-sub-faced-lawsuit-depths-safely-travel-oceangate

Submarine missing near Titanic used a $30 Logitech gamepad for steering | Ars Technica

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/06/submarine-missing-near-titanic-used-a-30-logitech-gamepad-for-steering/

Why Did the Missing Titanic Sub Use a $40 Video Game Controller?
https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvjjqq/why-did-the-missing-titanic-sub-use-a-dollar40-video-game-controller

The Titan, which was heading for a tour of the Titanic wreck site, had a commander to operate the submarine and four civilians on board. On June 19, 2023, the submarine was separated from the carrier 'Polar Prince' and communicated at a point about 900 miles (about 1450 km) east of Cape Cod off the North Atlantic Ocean and about 13,000 feet (about 4,000 m) deep. Finally, the crew of the carrier reported that contact was lost approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes into the dive.

Missing sightseeing submarine headed for Titanic with five people - GIGAZINE

The Titan's distress this time has gradually highlighted the low safety of OceanGate Expeditions, which operates tours. Former submersible pilot David Lockridge, who was fired from OceanGate Expeditions for refusing to participate in manned trials over concerns about the quality and safety of the early submersibles, said he was 'unfairly dismissed.' I was accused of information related to the quality and safety of submarines. After that, OceanGate Expeditions sued Mr. Rockridge in 2018 for 'illegally disclosing confidential information about submarines.'

'When a submersible reaches extreme depths, such as 4,000 meters, the pressure exerted on the submersible can cause large cracks in the carbon material of the submersible, causing serious accidents to passengers and crew,' said Lockridge. There is,' he claims. Also, when Mr. Rockridge expressed concern about the safety of the submersible to OceanGate Expeditions, he said, ``Access to blueprints, pressure test results, and other important information was denied,'' Lockridge said. Ridge's concerns were ignored.

In addition, Mr. Rockridge reported during a meeting in January 2018 that included OceanGate Expeditions CEO Stockton Rush, Human Resources Director and Operations Director and Mr. The 'viewport' at the front of the submersible can only withstand depths up to 1300m, even though it was intended to be lowered to a depth of 1300m.' It has also been reported to have refused to pay for Viewport, which can dive to 4000m.

“Passengers paying large sums of money to participate in tours were not informed of submersible safety concerns,” said Lockridge. Passengers do not know that they are there, ”he appealed to OceanGate Expeditions, but OceanGate Expeditions did not listen to the appeal and Mr. Rockridge was dismissed.

In the November 2022 broadcast of

CBS News Sunday Morning , reporter David Pogue visited Titan and noted, 'Many of the submersible's features, such as the bare displays and the use of construction pipes as ballasts , are untouched.' The parts look like they were improvised,' he said.

A visit to RMS Titanic-YouTube


Mr. Rush, who guided the submarine to Mr. Pogue, tells us that the `` F710 '', a wireless game controller made by Logitech sold for 5720 yen, is used to control Titan.

It is assumed that the cause of the distress of the submarine 'Titan' was multiple factors such as damage to the hull, fuel leakage, and damage to the oxygen container. , deploying multiple resources, including sonar-equipped aircraft, in a desperate search for the missing submersible.