Titan sub hearings live: Testimony resumes after friend said OceanGate CEO ‘knew it would end like this’
After hearing evidence from Stockton Rush’s friend, Karl Stanley, yesterday, engineers will give testimony to the US Coast Guard today
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The hearings into the Titan submersible disaster will resume today after a friend of the OceanGate CEO who said the boss “knew it was going to end like this" testified yesterday.
Karl Stanley, the owner of a diving expedition company in Honduras and a close friend of Stockton Rush, went on the doomed submersible with his friend in April 2019. The Titan sub imploded last June, killing all five people on board, including Rush.
In a previous interview after the disaster, Stanley said: “[Rush] definitely knew it was going to end like this. He quite literally and figuratively went out with the biggest bang in human history that you could go out with.”
Yesterday Stanley testified hearing cracking noises on the submersible and that he could pinpoint where they were coming from. He told the board that Rush was “scared” during the 2019 dive.
“It was unnerving and then when it kept happening,” Stanley testified, referring to the noises. “It’s also a clue to me about Stockton’s psychology...he was scared,” he added.
Today’s hearing will feature testimony from Don Kramer, National Transportation Safety Board engineer, and other specialists.
A recap of what happened on Monday
The investigative panel heard testimony from Guillermo Sohnlein, Roy Thomas and Phil Brooks.
Sohnlein co-founded OceanGate with Stockton Rush in 2009 but left the company in 2013. Despite the panel’s efforts, Sohnlein said the world may never know what led to tragedy.
Thomas, an engineer for the American Bureau of Shipping, one of the main classifying agencies for submersibles, spoke about complications with using carbon fiber materials. After repeated dives, the materials are susceptible to become “deformed” and “fail,” he said, adding OceanGate never tried to seek classification with the agency.
Rush designed the vessel with a carbon fiber hull. The agency would not have classified the sub using that material.
Brooks, a senior hardware engineer, spoke about his role analyzing data for OceanGate and the company’s lack of funds. The “company was economically stressed” and asked him to go without paychecks, he said.
Friend of OceanGate boss who said CEO ‘knew it would end like this’ to testify today
Karl Stanley, the owner of a diving expedition company in Honduras and a close friend of Stockton Rush, is due to testify later today.
Stanley went on the doomed submersible with his friend in 2019 and is scheduled to speak at 1.30pm. He has previously said he believes Rush “definitely knew it would end like this.”
It’s possible Stanley could speak about his experience on the submersible during a dive and warnings he gave Rush about Titan. He said he doesn’t believe his friend did enough research into his carbon fiber design.
Amber Bay, OceanGate’s former director of administration, will begin testifying at 9am.
Bay might discuss her experiences with Rush. Prior witnesses have described Rush as someone who was difficult to deal with at times.
US Coast Guard releases video of salvage efforts to recover parts of Titan sub
What is the process for classifying submersibles?
To qualify for classification with the American Bureau of Shipping, submersible owners must:
1. Establish and maintain recognized technical standards
2. Check that the design of the submersible is in compliance with the standards
3. Certify material and equipment that will be incorporated into the vessel complies with standards
4. Ensure vessel is in compliance with ABS standards throughout lifetime
US Coast Guard releases exhibits ahead of hearing
Photos and exhibits pertaining to the investigation are available on Twitter. One set of documents shows the mapped location of the Titan’s debris on the seafloor. The other photo is of the submersible’s dome previously referenced in testimony.
WATCH: Titan crew's final three-word text revealed in haunting animation of submersible's journey
Final communications between the Titan crew and its support vessel, revealed
“All good here” were some of the final words that the doomed Titan submersible crew communicated before the submersible imploded on its mission to the Titanic wreckage site in June 2023.
The message, revealed as part of the Coast Guard’s Monday hearing into the circumstances of the failed mission, was sent to support vessel Polar Prince on June 18, 2023, shortly before the submersible imploded, killing all five of its crew members. It was an incident that captivated both sides of the Atlantic as crews made a mad dash to save the crew after the sub lost contact with the surface - with the world unaware that the lives had been lost.
The Coast Guard played an animated re-enactment of the Titan’s voyage that captured the submersible’s final, spotty exchange with the Polar Prince, during the Monday hearing that shed new light on the sub’s final mission.
Around 10am on June 18, Polar Prince asked the Titan crew whether they were able to see the support vessel on the submersible’s display. The support vessel asked the crew the same question seven times over the course of seven minutes. The Titan crew then sent “k,” meaning it was asking for a communications check.
Read the full story...
Final messages revealed from the Titan sub before tragic implosion
The anticipated two-week-long hearings kicked off with testimony from a former OceanGate engineer, who said he was fired after warning about the ship’s carbon fiber hull years before its catastrophic voyage
Coast Guard adds ‘new witness’ to schedule ahead of Friday’s hearing
‘This was not supposed to happen’ Sohnlein says during closing statements
“This was not supposed to happen,” Sohnlein said during his closing remarks on Monday. “Five people should not have lost their lives.”
Despite the efforts of the investigating panel, the former OceanGate CEO said he’s not sure the public will ever know want led to the tragedy.
Still, he’d like the memories of those who died to be preserved by continuing deep ocean exploration.
“Someday in the near future, we’ll look back on this time as a major turning point in human history when the general public took an active interest in our efforts to explore the deep ocean,” he said. “If that happens, then that’s probably the most fitting tribute for the memories of these five individuals.”
In photos: Key moments from the hearings so far
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