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Submarine lost at Titanic
Warned about the submarine trips five years ago: "Possible disaster"
Nora Fernstedt
Updated 08:40 | Published at 06:19
Back in 2018, submarine experts warned of the risks of Oceangate trips to the Titanic wreck.
The concerns were expressed in a letter to CEO Stockton Rush - who is now aboard the missing Titan.
The last sign of life from the craft is a pounding sound recorded in the search.
Quick version
* The submarine Titan with five people on board, including Oceangate CEO Stockton Rush, disappeared on Sunday in the middle of an expedition to explore the Titanic wreck at a depth of 4,000 meters.
* Back in 2018, submarine experts warned of the risks of Oceangate's expeditions in a letter to the CEO, pointing to possible catastrophic problems and avoiding external scrutiny.
* A former employee, David Lochridge, was fired from the company after raising safety risks and independent testing of the hull.
ⓘ The summary is made with the support of AI tools from OpenAI and quality assured by Aftonbladet.
The submarine Titan, with five people on board, dived on Sunday morning to explore the wreck of the Titanic at a depth of almost 4,000 meters.
Contact with the craft was lost after less than two hours. The rescue team is now racing against the clock to find the submarine before the oxygen runs out.
During Tuesday, emergency services heard a pounding sound every 30 minutes, according to an internal authority report, reports CNN.
After additional echo sounders were deployed on Tuesday evening, sounds were heard again. However, it was not described as a knock.
Warned five years ago
The submarine is owned by the company Oceangate, and is used so that tourists can see the wreck up close. The price? The tidy sum of $250,000.
Now the New York Times reports that the company was warned about the risks of the expeditions already five years ago.
.Oceangate CEO Stockton Rush, left, is aboard the missing submarine. Photo: Wilfredo Lee/AP
Required external review
The New York Times has published a letter that submarine industry leaders sent to Oceangate CEO Stockton Rush in 2018.
The authors of the letter expressed "unanimous concern" about the "experimental" voyages, and that they saw possible "catastrophic" problems with the way the submarine was built.
They also argued that Oceangate was misleading when it claimed the submarine's design exceeded current safety guidelines - while the company had no plans to allow itself to be audited by a third party.
"While this may require additional time and expense, it is our unanimous opinion that this third-party validation process is a critical component of the security measures that protect all submarine passengers," the letter states.
Beat off the criticism
The letter has been signed by dozens of people with expertise in the field, including oceanographers, submarine company executives and deep-sea explorers.
CEO Stockton Rush and Ocean Gate dismissed the criticism and said the process of certification would slow down the company's development, calling it "a curse" for rapid innovation.
Now Stockton Rush is one of the five people aboard the missing craft.
Oceangate declined to comment on the letter after the New York Times published it.
Employee warned - fired
Even within the company, concern has previously been raised about the risks of submarine trips.
David Lochridge, then head of marine operations at Oceangate, was fired when he raised the security risks.
Like the letter writers, Lochridge was concerned by Oceangate's refusal to carry out independent testing of the hull.
He warned that the passengers on the Titan could be in danger when the submarine is down in very deep water.
The company in turn accused Lochridge of breaching non-disclosure agreements by disclosing classified information about the company.
Three points about the missing submarine at Titanic
08.15
Ebba Thorneus
1. The submarine Titan, with five people on board, dived on Sunday morning to explore the wreck of the Titanic at a depth of almost 4,000 meters.
2. After less than two hours, the craft lost contact with the mother ship - and rescue teams are now racing against the clock as the oxygen is expected to run out by lunchtime on Thursday.
3. Among the five on board are the founder of the submarine company, a French Titanic expert, a British billionaire, and two people from Pakistan's wealthiest family.
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