Email correspondence with a top expert in deep sea exploration reveals that OceanGate's CEO repeatedly downplayed safety concerns regarding the Titan submersible.
In messages obtained by the BBC, Rob McCallum urged OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush to stop using the sub until it had been officially classified by a third party because he might be endangering his clients.
In his response, Mr. Rush expressed his frustration with "industry players who try to use a safety argument to stop innovation.".
After OceanGate's attorneys threatened legal action, the tense exchange came to an end, according to Mr. McCallum.
He wrote to the OceanGate CEO in March 2018 and said, "I believe you may be putting yourself and your clients in a dangerous dynamic.". You are emulating the well-known catchphrase "She is unsinkable" in your pursuit of the Titanic. .
In one of the emails, Mr. Rush writes, "We have heard the baseless cries of "you are going to kill someone" way too often. I'm fed up with the criticism of Titan's safety measures.". I consider this to be a severe personal insult. ".
According to Mr. McCallum, he repeatedly advised the business to apply for certification before using the Titan for paid tours. The boat was never certified or categorized.
In one email, he advised against using a sub for commercial deep dive operations until it had been classified, tested, and proven.
I beg you to exercise extreme caution and extreme conservatism during your testing and sea trials, he continued. "As much as I value innovation and entrepreneurship, you could endanger the stability of an entire sector. ".
A few days later, Mr. Rush addressed the incident and defended his company. Mr. Rush was one of five passengers who perished when the Titan underwent what authorities have dubbed a "catastrophic implosion" while making a dive for the Titanic.
He praised OceanGate for its "engineering focused, cutting-edge approach. shatters the conventional wisdom about submersibles, but that's how innovation works.
Throughout the discussion, Mr. Rush defended his credentials and cast doubt on the rules that currently govern deep-sea expeditions.
"Players in the industry," he claimed, were attempting to prevent "new entrants from entering their small existing market.".
In his letter, he claimed, "I am well qualified to understand the risks and issues associated with subsea exploration in a new vehicle.
Then, Mr. McCallum replied in no uncertain terms, writing: "Again, take care and keep safe. It will be sea trials that determine whether the vehicle can handle what you intend to do with it. ".
More than Titan and the Titanic, he declared, were at stake in this situation.
Mr. Rush established OceanGate in 2009. For a cost of $250,000 (£195,600), customers could travel to deep sea destinations, including the Titanic wreck, on board Titan.
The business is silent regarding the email conversation.
Experts have questioned Titan's safety as well as the oversight of commercial deep-sea expeditions. The Titan's experimental construction method and choice of carbon fiber as a building material have drawn criticism.
More than thirty business leaders and specialists, including Mr. McCallum, warned Mr. Rush in a letter from 2018 that OceanGate's methods might result in "catastrophic" issues.
According to Mr. McCallum, a specialist who owns his own ocean expedition business, "the industry has been trying for several years to get Stockton Rush to halt his program for two reasons.".
The first is that carbon fiber is an unsuitable material, he said. The other is that this was the only submersible operating for commercial purposes that was not classified in the entire world. It didn't have an impartial agency certify it. ".
Subs can be "classed" or certified by marine organizations, such as the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), DNV (a world-wide accreditation organization with headquarters in Norway), or Lloyd's Register.
To put it simply, this means that the car has to adhere to a set of requirements for things like performance, stability, and strength. However, this procedure is optional.
The company claimed in a 2019 blog post that while the way it had been built was outside of the accepted system, "it does not mean that OceanGate does not meet standards where they apply.". ".
Stockton thought of himself as a bit of a maverick businessman, according to Mr. McCallum. He favored unconventional thinking and disliked being constrained by regulations. There are, however, laws as well as good engineering practices and the laws of physics. ".
He insists that nobody ought to have taken the Titan sub on its trip.
There is a terrible price to pay if you stray from sound engineering principles, which are all based on hard-won experience, he warned.
"Therefore, it should never be permitted to occur again. This time, it wasn't something that ought to have happened.
. "
