Titan sub hearings live: OceanGate CEO said he would ‘buy a congressman’ to make problems vanish, witness says
US Coast Guard’s two-week long hearing into the disastrous Titan submersible voyage operated by OceanGate enters its final day in North Charleston
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OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush allegedly declared that he would “buy a congressman” to make issues surrounding the Titan sub’s certification go away, a witness testified.
Matthew McCoy, who worked at the submersible company for six months from April 2017, addressed the Titan Marine Board of Investigation panel on Friday for the final day of the two-week long hearing into Titan’s disaster voyage in June 2023.
After raising concerns about an alleged lack of certificate of inspection for the first Titan sub in 2017, McCoy testified that Rush told him, “I would buy a congressman” to make problems disappear during a lunch meeting. The ex-OceanGate employee said that he quit soon after.
“He was either trying to intimidate me or impress me,” he testified.
McCoy also alleged that the OceanGate engineering department was “full of college interns” during his time at the company, adding that he “doesn’t believe” there was a professional engineer on staff.
Captain Jamie Frederick, member of the US Coast Guard who oversaw rescue mission of the Titan and its five crew, will testify after McCoy. Coast Guard Search and Rescue Specialist Scott Talbot will be the last witness of the inquiry.
‘Search conditions were good’
“In general terms the search conditions were good,” testified Captain Jamie Frederick, who was in charge of the US Coast Guard’s search and rescue mission to find the Titan sub.
“We weren’t hampered severely by weather,” he added, but noted that “aircraft [was] limited to 500ft ceiling at certain point”.
There were no staff shortages at the time in the Coast Guard, Frederick testified. All S&R equipment was in good working order, he added.
Coast Guard witness outlines ‘logistical challenges’ of getting ROV to Titan’s location
Captain Jamie Frederick of the US Coast Guard said there were “logistical challenges” in finding and sending a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to the area Titan disappeared.
“What we’re looking for is a 6,000m ROV,” he said. “Those resources are limited and they need to be available, and available quickly.”
OceanGate reached out to Pelagic Research Services – who eventually provided an ROV, Frederick testified.
The Coast Guard (with support from the United States Transportation Command) chartered three C-17 Globemaster aircraft to New York.to pick up the ROV. In total it amounted to 70,000lbs of equipment, posing an extreme “logistical challenge,” Frederick testified.
‘First subsurface search and rescue case in my 30-year Coast Guard career,’ witness testifies
Captain Jamie Frederick of the US Coast Guard detailed the unprecedented situation that the Titan search and rescue mission brought with it.
He said that in the entirety of his 30 year Coast Guard career, most of which was conducting search and rescue missions, he’d never conducted a subsurface mission.
Frederick testified that he isn’t aware of any other subsurface S&R missions conducted by the Coast Guard before.
Coast Guard captain reveals initial challenges in search for Titan
“The case is challenging for many reasons,” Captain Jamie Frederick of the US Coast Guard began.
He noted the distance off-shore, the lack of presence from the Canadian Coast Guard initially and a 3,000 meter ROV (remotely operated vehicle) depth.
Frederick added that the US Coast Guard sent out C-130 Hercules aircraft, with the New York International Guard and Canadian Air Force also sending out planes. As Search and Rescue Coordinator, Frederick could direct Canadian assets.
Captain reveals moment Coast Guard received call about ‘overdue’ Titan
“On Sunday… we received a call into the district command center at 17.40,” Captain Jamie Frederick testified of the moment Titan disappeared on June 18, 2023. “It was a report for an overdue submersible at the side of the Titanic.”
“An overdue vessel, in the simplest terms, means you have confirmed departure from a location, and confirmed non-departure – that would put you in the distressed faze.”
He continued: “You’re talking about a multidimensional search: subsurface and surface.”
A Coast Guard crew flew to the area to conduct a surface search, Frederick said. The US Navy was queried for available resources, which they did not have to hand, he added.
US Coast Guard captain who led search for Titan begins testimony
Captain Jamie Frederick, the US Coast Guard employee who oversaw the rescue mission of the Titan submersible, has begun giving testimony to the Titan Marine Board of Investigation.
First witness, ex-OceanGate employee Matthew McCoy, finishes testimony
Matthew McCoy, a former OceanGate employee who worked at the company between April and September in 2017, has finished with his testimony.
OceanGate CEO ‘understood’ regulations but ‘didn’t hire' a safety officer, ex-employee says
When asked if OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush understood the regulations in place at that moment of time, ex-employee Matthew McCoy, who worked at the submersible company for a short stint from April 2017, replied that “I absolutely do”.
McCoy then testified that he “doesn’t believe” there was a professional engineer on staff. He added that he believes there was no safety officer working at OceanGate at the time.
OceanGate engineering department full of ‘college interns,’ former employee testifies
Ex-OceanGate employee Matthew McCoy testified that the submersible’s “engineering department didn’t seem overly qualified,” while he worked at the company in 2017.
He again said he was concerned after learning that OceanGate had broken ties with Boeing and the University of Washington’s engineering department.
“Who is the qualified individual making these decisions?,” he added. McCoy claimed that OceanGate engineers consisted of “college interns” during the summer of 2017.
Ex-OceanGate employee ‘didn’t think they’d dive Titan’
Matthew McCoy testified that after handing in notice following his lunch with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush (as per previous post), he “didn’t think they’d dive Titan”.
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