Company owns Titan undersea fire expert who warned about safety in 2018

David Lochridge has warned of a problem with the Titan, which has been missing since Sunday.

A submarine expert who worked for OceanGate, the company that operates the missing submersible, warned of potential safety issues in 2018, according to US court documents.

David Lochridge moved from Scotland to the US state of Washington to work for the company. In an interview with the BBC in 2017, he raved about the mission.

But less than a year later, he warned his bosses that flaws in the Titan’s carbon-fiber hull could go unnoticed without more rigorous testing, and recommended the company hire an outside agency to certify the vessel.

He said his verbal warnings were ignored until he wrote a report and was called to a meeting with several officials, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who is aboard the missing submersible.

OceanGate fired Lochridge. The company is suing him for disclosing confidential information. The submarine specialist is suing the company for unfair dismissal. The two sides have reached an agreement.

Lochridge is not giving interviews at this time, according to his attorney.

Court documents say Lochridge found that the makers of the Titan’s front window only certified it to a depth of 1,300 meters.

The remains of the Titanic lie 3,800 meters below the surface of the ocean.

Stockton Rush also spoke to the BBC in 2017.

Rush said at the time that an eight-day trip to explore the Titanic would cost $105,000. It was the first time such a profound journey had been opened to tourists.

Now, the expedition costs US$250,000 (R$1.2 million) per person to travel some 645km across the Atlantic to the wreck site.

Rush said he’d always wanted to be an astronaut, but after earning an aerospace degree and working as an engineer in the US fighter program, he was told poor eyesight wouldn’t allow him to be an astronaut pilot. ‘air force.

As an enthusiastic diver, he set out to launch submersible travel to depths previously limited to government submarines.

Clients who have used OceanGate’s submersible include Everest climbers, nautical archaeologists and filmmakers. It also welcomed travelers of various ages, from 12 to 92 years old.

Rescue teams are racing against time to find a tourist submarine that was supposed to visit the wreck of the Titanic, but has been missing since Sunday (18), with five people on board.

Source: Terra

Rose

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