After they left, Titan The vessel was rebuilt with a new hull that had never been tested to industry standards or certified by an independent third party. Patrick Lahey, CEO of submersible manufacturer Triton Submarines, said certifying a new hull is not only possible, but essential for safety.
“At the same time they were developing this amateurish device, we were developing and certifying the world’s deepest-diving submarine,” he testified. “There was no reason why we couldn’t certify it.”
A history of difficulties Titanic mission
Ocean Gate’s first mission Titanic In 2021, TitanThe forward titanium dome fell off after the dive, the acoustic monitoring system recorded worrying readings, and the thrusters failed at a depth of 3,500 meters. Coast Guard evidence slides showed that there were 70 equipment problems that needed to be fixed during that season’s dives. The following year things improved slightly, with only 48 problems recorded. However, dead batteries extended missions from about 7 hours to 27 hours, and the submarine itself was damaged during recovery.
One dive in 2022 ended with a mysterious loud explosion and cracking sounds upon surfacing. Antonella Wilby, an engineering contractor for Ocean Gate, was so concerned by the explosion that she considered reporting it to Ocean Gate’s board of directors. She testified that another employee warned her that she could be sued if she reported it. “Everyone should be free to speak up about safety without fear of retaliation, but that was not the situation I saw,” she said. “I was completely ignored.”
Above TitanOn the penultimate dive of 2023, contractor Tim Catterson admitted not carrying out safety checks. Titan The ship remained tilted at a 45 degree angle for an hour, with the people on board piled on top of each other.
Conflicting views on carbon fibre hulls
There has been conflicting testimony about its safety. TitanThe ‘s unique carbon fiber hull. Dyer noted that carbon fiber was well suited to deep-sea submersibles, and Nissen asserted that computer modeling and acoustic monitoring and warning systems allowed it to be used indefinitely. Lockridge, Catterson, and former Director of Human Resources Bonnie Carle were much more skeptical of the hull’s design and implementation, but all three admitted they were not engineers.
Many of these questions will be answered next week when Nissen’s replacement, Phil Brooks, submersible engineers, and Boeing carbon fiber experts appear. In particular, next Wednesday, engineers from the National Transportation Safety Board’s Materials Laboratory will TitanExamination of the wreckage may help determine the physical cause of the explosion.
Where was the Coast Guard?
Investigators have noted several points: Titan It should have been inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard before carrying paying passengers, and no one questioned could explain why, even though Ocean Gate had apparently contacted the Coast Guard multiple times, informing them of its underwater activities.
Lockridge also testified that OSHA told him it had referred his safety complaints to the Coast Guard in 2018. At least one of five Coast Guard witnesses to be called next week is based in Puget Sound, near OceanGate’s headquarters, and could potentially speak about the case.
Not on the witness list is Rear Adm. John Lockwood of the U.S. Coast Guard, who joined Ocean Gate’s board in 2013. Lockridge and Kahl testified that Lockwood’s role was to oversee and facilitate interactions with the Coast Guard.
Missing witness
Lockwood isn’t the only notable absent from the witness stand. Multiple witnesses have testified this week that Ocean Gate employees, including Wendy Rush, Scott Griffiths and Neil McCurdy, played key roles in making key business, regulatory and operational decisions throughout Ocean Gate’s history and on the day of the accident. Not one has been called to testify. Neither has anyone from the hull’s manufacturer been called. The Coast Guard has not given a reason for this other than to deny it is because these witnesses asserted their Fifth Amendment right to refuse to answer questions.
