Questions continue to be asked concerning the suitability of the OceanGate submersible ‘Titan’ for its task, after the vessel imploded last week, killing five people.
The world desperately clung onto hopes of a positive outcome when Titan first went missing, losing contact just one hour and forty five minutes into its voyage to view the wreck of the Titanic on June 18.
A huge search and rescue operation was initiated, but ultimately worst fears were realized when the US Coast Guard mapped out a debris field on Thursday of last week – the same day the Titan was due to run out of oxygen.
In the wake of the tragedy, much of the talk has turned to just what went wrong, with speculation insisting that the vessel was unfit for the journey.
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush was among the five souls to lose their lives when his Titan submersible imploded. A self-professed adventurer and innovator, much of his focus in life was centered around his ambition to go where others hadn’t dared.
The BBC described him as a “maverick spirit” whose charisma helped to draw in employees, customers and investors.
“His passion was amazing and I bought into it,” said Aaron Newman, who travelled on Mr Rush’s Titan sub and eventually became an OceanGate investor.
“You’re remembered for the rules you break,” Rush himself once said.
Speaking on the Titan vessel, he said: “I’ve broken some rules. I think I’ve broken them with logic and good engineering behind me.”
And it’s precisely that notion that’s currently being picked through by people trying to work out if the tragedy that befell the Titan was in any way avoidable.
According to Futurism, new evidence suggests that at the very least, Titan may not have been fit for purpose.
Arnie Weissman, editor-in-chief of Travel Weekly, was supposed to be on the doomed expedition, but he was unable to go due a scheduling conflict. As per the Washington Post, Weissman had a conversation with Stockton the evening prior to the Titan voyage, where Stockton made a rather haunting revelation.
Weissman said that Rush claimed he had used carbon fire bought “at a big discount from Boeing,” because “it was past its shelf life for use in airplanes.”
Reports have detailed how carbon fiber is a poor choice of material for a deepsea vessel anyway, and as such could have ultimately been a factor in the Titan’s implosion.
“I responded right away, saying, ‘Don’t you have any concerns about that?’” Weissman told the Post.
“He was very dismissive and said: ‘No, it’s perfectly fine. Having all these certifications for airplanes is one thing, but the carbon fiber was perfectly sound.’”
Our thoughts and prayers remain with the families of those who lost their lives onboard the Titan.
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