According to leaked emails published by The New Yorker, a former employee of OceanGate, David Lochridge, expressed serious concerns about the company’s CEO, Stockton Rush. Lochridge, who served as the director of marine operations at OceanGate until 2018, disclosed his worries about the safety of the Titan submersible during its construction process. However, his warnings were consistently disregarded by management, leading to his eventual termination.
In an email sent to OceanGate’s project associate, Rob McCallum, shortly after his dismissal, Lochridge expressed his fear that Rush’s ego-driven pursuit would result in harm to himself and others, even suggesting that Rush could end up dead on the submersible. Tragically, Lochridge’s email foreshadowed a sequence of events that unfolded when the Titan embarked on a fateful journey to explore the Titanic wreck. On June 18, the Titan met a catastrophic end, claiming the lives of five individuals, including Rush and other notable figures such as Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood, and Suleman Dawood.
Lochridge had meticulously examined the Titan sub and discovered numerous errors and issues that raised concerns. For instance, during a lawsuit he filed in the Seattle District Court, Lochridge revealed that he found glue peeling away at the seams of the sub’s ballast bags and inadequately placed mounting bolts that could potentially cause a rupture. He also identified snagging hazards and expressed alarm over vital components attached with zip-ties. Additionally, the sub had flammable flooring and interior vinyl wrapping that could emit toxic gases when ignited.
However, Lochridge’s primary concern centered on the sub’s carbon fiber core, which was crucial for sustaining passengers as they descended to the Titanic wreckage’s depths, approximately 13,000 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. Lochridge argued that this safety measure had not undergone extensive testing, as it was an unprecedented feature in deep-sea submersibles. In his lawsuit, Lochridge stressed the need for more testing and highlighted the importance of implementing suitable corrective actions before conducting any further trials with the submersible.
Unfortunately, Rush reacted angrily to Lochridge’s lawsuit and promptly terminated his employment.
