Titan sub hearings live: Friend of OceanGate boss who said CEO ‘knew it would end like this’ to testify today
The US Coast Guard hearing into the Titan submersible tragedy will resume at 8.30am this morning and will hear from Stockton Rush’s friend, Karl Stanley
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A friend of the late OceanGate boss who said the CEO "definitely knew it was going to end like this" is due to testify at the hearing into the Titan submersible disaster today.
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 2019 and warned afterward how he heard a large cracking sound while on the dive.
The submersible imploded last June, killing all five people on board, including Rush.
Stanley was interviewed by 60 Minutes Australia last year where he said he’d warned Rush about taking customers on Titan.
“He definitely knew it was going to end like this," Stanley told the broadcaster. "He literally and figuratively went out with the biggest bang in human history that you can go out with."
In an email exchange with Rush, Stanley reportedly warned: “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.”
Yesterday Guillermo Sohnlein, the co-founder of OceanGate, told the hearing into the disaster the cause of the accident may never be known.
Key witness previously warned CEO of problems with Titan
Karl Stanley, a friend of late OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, warned him against taking customers aboard the company’s Titan submersible four years before it tragically imploded in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.
Stanley is due to give evidence to the hearing this afternoon.
He is the owner of a diving expedition company in Honduras and previously went aboard the Titan off the coast of the Bahamas in 2019, The New York Times first reported.
In emails obtained by Insider of an alleged exchange between the two deep-sea enthusiasts, Stanley told Rush that he had heard a large cracking sound while on the 12,000-foot-deep dive.
“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 a premonitory email, years before the Titan’s catastrophic implosion that killed all five of its passengers.
Catch up on our report from the time.
Friend of late OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush warned Titan needed more testing in 2019
‘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,’ Karl Stanley wrote in a 2019 email
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.”
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