Titanic expert PH Nargeolet, who died in sub implosion, said it would be ‘good way’ to go: report
French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who perished in the OceanGate submersible tragedy, said he was well aware of the risks in diving to the famed shipwreck – and even considered an implosion a “good way” to go, according to a new report.
Patrick Lahey, president of Triton Submarines, told The New Yorker he had warned his friend not to take part in expeditions led by the company, whose CEO Stockton Rush had allegedly ignored widespread warnings about the lack of safety and construction of the deep-sea tourist vessel.
“I had a conversation with PH just as recently as a few months ago,” Lahey told the mag, referring to Nargeolet by his nickname.
“I kept giving him s—t for going out there. I said, ‘PH, by you being out there, you legitimize what this guy’s doing. It’s a tacit endorsement. And, worse than that, I think he’s using your involvement with the project, and your presence on the site, as a way to f—–g lure people into it,’” he said.
Nargeolet, 77, replied that he was an elderly widower and that “if you have to go, that would be a good way. Instant,” referring to how an implosion would happen so fast you wouldn’t know you died.
The French explorer and former naval officer had been to the wreck of the Titanic, 12,500ft beneath the surface of the ocean over 30 times, and had been on OceanGate’s submersible numerous times during tourist trips.
“I said, ‘OK, so you’re ready to f—-g die? Is that what it is, PH?’ ” Lahey recalled to The New Yorker. “And he said, ‘No, no, but I figure that, maybe if I’m out there, I can help them avoid a tragedy.’ But instead, he found himself right in the f—-g center of a tragedy. And he didn’t deserve to go that way.
“I loved PH Nargeolet,” Lahey said as he choked up. “He was a brilliant human being and somebody that I had the privilege of knowing for almost 25 years, and I think it’s a tremendously sad way for him to have ended his life.”
OceanGate has declined to comment to media outlets since the Titan tragedy but CEO Stockton Rush said in a 2021 interview he would “like to be remembered as an innovator.
“I think it was General MacArthur who said, ‘You’re remembered for the rules you break.’ And I’ve broken some rules to make this,” he said, adding: “The carbon fiber and titanium? There’s a rule you don’t do that. Well, I did,” referring to the controversial carbon-fiber design of the Titan’s hull.
Other deep-sea submersibles make the compartments where their crew sits out of titanium or reinforced steel.
Rush, 61, and Nargeolet were killed in the implosion along with British billionaire Hamish Harding, 58, Pakistani tycoon Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son, Sulaiman Dawood.
Rush, who was piloting the Titan, has faced heavy criticism after the disaster for seemingly ignoring major safety concerns while charging the wealthy tourists $250,000 each for the voyage to the iconic wreck 12,500 feet below the Atlantic ocean surface.
Last week, the US Coast Guard announced that “presumed human remains” were found in the debris, which was recovered by Pelagic Research Services, a Massachusetts-based company that specializes in deep-sea rescue equipment.
