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Titan Submersible Disaster: Red Flags That Warned of the Impending Catastrophe

BBG News

As a passionate movie enthusiast, on June 18, 2023, my heart is heavy with the tragic news about an expedition to the R.M.S. Titanic. The submersible we boarded, designed by OceanGate where Stockton Rush served as CEO, suffered an unexpected implosion, claiming the lives of all five passengers onboard. Among the victims were British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his young son Suleman, renowned explorer Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a seasoned diver who had visited the Titanic over three dozen times. This loss is deeply felt by the entire diving community.

It’s been two years since the collapse of the Titan submarine, and during this time, OceanGate has put a halt to all commercial and exploration activities. Additionally, the U.S. Coast Guard is still withholding the results of their investigation into the incident. A Netflix documentary set for release on June 11 offers its perspective on what caused the submersible’s collapse, featuring insights from former OceanGate employees who claim that the disaster was a predictable outcome and that the design of the submersible had inherent flaws.

TIME had a conversation with director Mark Monroe on his work in identifying warning signs leading up to the OceanGate submersible accident.

Flawed materials

The documentary reveals that there were issues with the materials chosen for constructing the submersible from the start. Specifically, it was discovered that the carbon fiber employed in the submersible wouldn’t withstand a dive as deep as necessary to reach the Titanic. During tests, the fiber consistently fractured under pressure, emitting a loud popping sound as the threads snapped apart.

Monroe mentions that everyone believes the noise occurred when the submersible was nearly at the water’s surface,” he adds, suggesting it should have served as an obvious indication of trouble ahead.

Despite encountering persistent problems during its 80th trial run, the submersible may have never achieved a successful dive, as suggested by ex-employees to the filmmakers. Monroe expresses, “Perhaps no test could ever prove it safe enough for use with clients, since there’s not enough evidence of its safety through positive testing.

According to Monroe, proving the safety of using carbon fiber in the hull required millions of dollars and numerous years of additional testing. Moreover, it’s uncertain from where OceanGate was obtaining its funding. From my research and conversations with others, it appears that OceanGate was not generating profits at all. In fact, there is no possibility that they were actually earning money.

In his relentless pursuit of perfecting carbon fiber, Rush took risks that ultimately proved fatal. As Monroe puts it, “If he had adhered to industry norms, perhaps he wouldn’t have been able to create a carbon fiber submersible for the Titanic, but maybe those lives could have been saved.

Cutting corners

In the documentary, engineers express that Rush was imprudent, habitually hurrying through tests and seemingly unmindful of the passengers’ safety. The significant warning sign is Rush’s choice to forgo an external inspection of the submersible, deviating from industry practices. Monroe mentions that Rush also circumvented regulations requiring the submersible to be registered as a vehicle, and it was never officially documented.

During the course of the project, the hull developed a crack and needed replacement. A smaller replica underwent the same stress tests that the original did.

Even though the submersible hadn’t been tested successfully yet, OceanGate chose to proceed with its manufacturing process. This decision led Emily Hammermeister, an assistant to the lead engineer at OceanGate, to resign. At some point during the documentary, she expressed her discomfort about securing people into a vehicle that hadn’t been fully proven safe.

It isn’t just Monroe who felt dissatisfied; many employees shared her sentiment. To put it in Monroe’s words, “I believe that numerous individuals were puzzled as to why we should proceed when we can’t figure out how to prevent the model from collapsing?

Audience will listen to astonishing audio of David Lochridge, a past submersible operations director, being harshly criticized by Rush following Lochridge’s composition of a memo detailing safety concerns. This recording was made public during the U.S. Coast Guard’s investigation.

In every expedition we’ve undertaken, there have been problems, according to Lochridge in the recording. Rush allegedly believed that Lochridge failed to grasp his concept, which he characterized as performing unconventional actions that are undoubtedly outside the norm. The documentary reveals that Rush perceived any criticism of his project as a direct attack on him personally.

Lessons from the disaster

Monroe expresses hope that the Titan disaster will cause viewers to question if such expeditions are essential in the future, pointing out that “We’ve witnessed a craze of billionaires traveling and an urge among the affluent to accomplish something in this world that is beyond reach for many. This experience fuels that ambition.

Monroe expresses hope that the documentary will stimulate viewers to exercise caution towards Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who boast about innovating differently and finding ways to bypass rules and regulations. He warns, “Though such actions might apply in some sectors, when dealing with funds from people whose lives are at stake, I believe it’s extremely risky.

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2025-06-11 15:07

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