Co-founder of Titan submersible optimistic disaster will not halt deep-sea exploration
The co-founder of OceanGate expressed hope that the Titan sub disaster would not spell the end of deep-sea exploration.
OceanGate chief Stockton Rush, along with British adventurer Hamish Harding, father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, and Frenchman Paul-Henri Nargeolet, tragically lost their lives when the Titan sub imploded during its descent in June last year.
Guillermo Sohnlein, who co-founded the submersible company with Mr Rush in 2009 but left OceanGate in 2013, made these remarks.
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How Titan submersible tragedy unfolded
Addressing a US Coast Guard public hearing investigating the ill-fated voyage, Mr Sohnlein expressed his desire for continued interest in deep-sea exploration.
“This can’t be the end of deep ocean exploration,” he stated. “This can’t be the end of deep-diving submersibles, and I don’t believe that it will be.”
In defense of the company, he highlighted OceanGate’s vision to develop a fleet of four or five deep-diving submersibles capable of descending to 6,000m with a capacity of five occupants.
Mr Sohnlein explained the choice of carbon fiber for its lightweight and budget-friendly characteristics, eliminating the need for a specific mother ship tether.
He countered that this concept was not unique and had been explored previously.
He refuted claims of being motivated by tourism or specifically targeting the Titanic for exploration, despite former operations director David Lochridge suggesting otherwise at the hearing: “The whole idea behind the company was to make money“.
Read more:
What happened to the Titan?
The Titan sub made its final dive to the Titanic wreckage on 18 June 2023, with all five passengers onboard dying in an implosion
The Titan sub made its final dive to the Titanic wreckage on 18 June 2023, losing contact with the Polar Prince support ship around two hours later.
Rescuers rushed ships, planes, and other equipment to an area around 435 miles (700km) south of St John’s, Newfoundland.
The search for the Titan attracted global attention, and the wreckage was eventually found on the ocean floor around 300m from the Titanic, according to officials.
Read more on Sky News:
The stories of those on the Titan submersible
Titan’s last message: ‘All good here’
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The ongoing hearing in Charleston County, South Carolina, is scheduled to continue until 27 September and has already revealed instances of malfunctions in the Titan sub.
Fred Hagen, a paying passenger on a previous dive in the Titan in 2021, recounted “all it could do was spin around in circles, making right turns” during the excursion.
OceanGate scientific director Steven Ross also informed the panel that a platform issue earlier in June 2023 caused passengers to “tumble about” and left one “hanging upside down,” leading to the sub’s implosion a few days later.
