OceanGate whistleblower says Titan sub disaster was ‘inevitable’ after potential safety warnings were ignored

A former OceanGate employee has claimed he shared concerns of potential safety problems of the Titan submersible, but his warnings were ignored.

On June 18, 2023, Titan, a submersible operated by OceanGate, imploded killing five passengers on board.

The family of one of the victims filed a wrongful death lawsuit and on Monday (September 16, 2024), and a hearing began in North Charleston, South Carolina, as part of a two-week inquiry by the US Coast Guard into what caused the implosion of the sub.

During the hearing, US Coast Guard investigators heard from OceanGate's former operations director David Lochridge.

Lochridge was made OceanGate marine operations director in January 2016 and was in charge of making sure all training pilots, crew and clients were safe.

However, he said during the hearing yesterday he was ultimately 'the only qualified submersible pilot to fly the assets' the company had and the 'only one with experience in new-build submersibles,' Sky News reports.

Lochridge branded the whole company as being all about making 'money' instead of prioritising 'science', saying it was 'inevitable' something would go wrong eventually.

He alleged OceanGate's former engineering director Tony Nissen and chief executive officer Stockton Rush were 'arrogant' in thinking they could carry out all of Titan's engineering in-house and that they were 'very impatient'.

Lochridge said he was 'very vocal' about not having any 'confidence whatsoever' in the company's building of Titan and 'a lot of steps along the way' being 'missed'.

But he claimed his concerns were dismissed and that he was deliberately 'kept away' from the project.

The hearing looking into why the sub imploded began on Monday (David Ryder/Getty Images)

In his inspection of the first Titan's hull, Lochridge identified 'imperfections', noting 'glue runs everywhere' which are 'a red flag'.

He added that he was 'appalled' with the type of seal used, called the 'O-ring'.

Lochridge alleged he wasn't invited to meetings, but when he did sit down with Rush, he claimed the CEO exhibited 'a total disregard for safety'.

Lochridge was later fired from the company in January 2018 and branded Titan an 'experimental submersible'.

He said he was 'very concerned' about taking passengers onboard who were unfamiliar with such vehicles.

He called the sub 'dangerous' and said he 'didn't want anybody going down' in it, contacting the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on February 6, 2023 leading him to be placed under its whistleblower protection scheme.

However, Lochridge accuses the agency of having done 'nothing' and so in November 2018 he dropped his claim as a result of the backlash he faced from OceanGate and the strain it was placing on his family.

Lochridge resolved he feels 'deeply let down and disappointed' by OSHA.

"If it had attempted to investigate, this tragedy may have been prevented," he concluded.

A spokesperson for the OSHA told UNILAD: "Mr. David Lochridge filed a whistleblower claim of retaliation under the Seaman’s Protection Act (SPA) on February 6, 2018. OSHA promptly referred his safety allegations regarding the Titan submersible to the Coast Guard, per policy, on February 26, 2018.

"The Coast Guard, not OSHA, had jurisdiction to investigate Mr. Lochridge’s allegations regarding the safe design and construction of marine vessels. OSHA’s jurisdiction under the SPA is limited to investigating a whistleblower’s claims of employment retaliation for making those complaints (or similar protected activity). OSHA opened an investigation in Mr. Lochridge’s retaliation allegations, which included interviewing Mr. Lochridge and obtaining relevant documents and a position statement from Ocean Gate Inc. The investigation followed the normal process and timeline for a retaliation case.

"Mr. Lochridge and Ocean Gate Inc. entered an independent settlement agreement on December 13, 2018, at which time OSHA terminated its investigation pursuant to the terms of the parties’ agreement. Our understanding is that Mr. Lochridge was represented by counsel in his settlement negotiations. We were informed of the settlement after the fact."

UNILAD has contacted OceanGate for comment.

Titan sub inquiry - everything we know from the investigation so far

A public hearing into the five deaths of the people onboard OceanGate's ill-fated Titan submersible began on Monday (16 September).

It is expected to last two weeks.

Titan was 'unregistered, non-certificated and unclassed'

The first day of the hearing (16 September) heard how the submersible was built in 2020 and was 'unregistered, non-certificated and unclassed', as well as having no identification number.

The submersible's hull was never subject to third-party checks and officials said it was left exposed to the elements while in storage for seven months in 2022 and 2023.

Parts of Titan 'bonded together using an adhesive'

In 2017, the year OceanGate announced it would be conducting trips to the Titanic, employees bonded together the submersible's carbon fibre hull and titanium rings 'using an adhesive'.

Titan found 'partially sunk' month before tragedy

During its 2023 expedition, the Titan was found 'partially sunk' in the ocean.

Image released of Titan debris on sea floor

An image showing debris, including the Titan's tail cone, on the sea floor after the implosion was revealed.

(US Coast Guard)

Titan lost contact with support ship

Those onboard the Titan were communicating with support staff on the Polar Prince ship by text messages.

After a number of exchanges, Titan crew lost contact with Polar Prince as it descended.

One of last texts from submersible revealed

One of Titan’s final responses was revealed to be: "All good here."

Titan 'struck by lightning'

Tony Nissen, OceanGate Expeditions’ former engineering director, testified that the Titan was hit by lightning during a test mission in 2018.

Nissen, who was allegedly fired in 2019 after not letting the submersible go to the Titanic, told OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush it was 'not working like we thought it would'.

When asked to pilot the submersible, Nissen said: “I’m not getting in it.”

Titan engineer 'felt pressure to get submersible ready for wreck dive'

When asked if there was pressure to get the Titan into the water, Nissen replied: “100%.”

Waivers

While Bonnie Carl, OceanGate's former human resources and finance director, said she was aware of a waiver people had to sign, she testified she 'never saw anyone sign anything'.

"When I was taking money, we hadn't even finished building the Titan," Carl claimed.

'No red flags' on day Titan went missing

Former OceanGate contractor Tym Catterson said: "There were no red flags... it was a good day."

The hearing continues.