Following the catastrophic implosion of the Titan submersible during its journey to the Titanic wreckage, new revelations have emerged regarding emails sent by a submersible expert and friend of the late OceanGate CEO, Stockton Rush, who expressed concerns about the vessel's safety.
In the aftermath of the tragic incident that claimed the lives of all five individuals on board, including Rush, the investigation now focuses on the cause of the catastrophe.
The US Coast Guard has already recovered fragments of the vessel and presumed human remains, which will undergo examination by medical professionals.
TOPSHOT - Art school students give final touches to a painting depicting five people aboard a submersible named Titan, that went missing near the wreck of the Titanic, in Mumbai on June 22, 2023.
Emails with Warnings
After the tragedy, some individuals who had been given the opportunity to board the Titan submersible have come forward, including well-known YouTuber MrBeast, admitting that they declined due to safety concerns.
Even those who had been previously on board raised apprehensions about the vessel's overall security. As reported by LADbible, among them was submersible expert Karl Stanley, who sent a series of emails to Stockton Rush in 2019, outlining his reservations.
Stanley, an operator of his own deep-sea exploration company, had been aboard the Titan sub in 2019 and recalled hearing a distinct cracking sound during his time on the Titan, as revealed in an email obtained by the New York Times.
Insider also obtained additional emails exchanged between Stanley and Rush, shedding light on their conversation urging the OceanGate CEO to conduct more rigorous safety tests before offering commercial trips with the submersible.
Expressing his thoughts on the vessel's safety, Stanley emphasized the need for significantly more testing before selling tickets for expeditions in the middle of the ocean. He noted that the mere "2-7 dives to operating depth" were insufficient to launch a journey with a six-figure ticket price.
Stanley recommended a minimum of 50 tests to ensure the vessel's reliability and pointed out a specific weakness in the hull, warning of potentially catastrophic failure.
"I think that hull has a defect near that flange, that will only get worse. The only question in my mind is will it fail catastrophically or not," Stanley wrote in one of his emails.
In response to Stanley's concerns, Rush assured that additional tests would be conducted, but not as many as Stanley had suggested. Rush believed Stanley's proposal was an "arbitrary dive number" and questioned its necessity.
However, Stanley persisted in his warnings and conveyed his belief that pushing forward with dives to the Titanic this season would be driven not only by financial pressures but also by Rush's ego and determination to prove naysayers wrong.
Prior Warnings About Titan Submersible
The exchange of emails between the OceanGate CEO and his friend Karl Stanley highlights the existence of prior warnings regarding the safety of the Titan submersible.
As investigations into the recent tragedy continue, these revelations raise questions about the extent to which these concerns were taken into account and whether further precautions could have prevented the devastating implosion.
The victims of this incident have been identified as Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, the organization responsible for the submersible; Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, members of a prominent Pakistani family; British adventurer Hamish Harding; and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a renowned expert on the Titanic.
Related Article: 5 Aboard Missing Titanic-Bound Submersible Dead After Fatal Implosion
