What To Know About OceanGate, Owner Of Lost Submersible

As a race against time continues to save five people trapped in a submersible that disappeared on a voyage to the underwater wreck of the Titanic, a history of questionable safety measures and legal troubles has surfaced against OceanGate Inc., the company behind the vessel.

The Titan submersible was reported overdue Sunday night about 435 miles south of St. John's, Newfoundland in Canada. The craft submerged Sunday morning, and its support vessel lost contact with it about an hour and 45 minutes later.

The submersible had a 96-hour oxygen supply starting at roughly 6 a.m. Sunday.

The expedition was OceanGate's third annual voyage to chronicle the deterioration of Titanic, which struck an iceberg and sank in 1912, killing all but about 700 of the roughly 2,200 passengers and crew. Since the wreckage's discovery in 1985, it has been slowly succumbing to metal-eating bacteria.

Those aboard the Titan include British billionaire Hamish Harding, businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Stockton Rush, OceanGate’s founder and CEO, Reuters reported.

What is OceanGate?

Established in 2009, OceanGate is privately owned and based in Everett, Washington. It was created to increase access to the deep ocean through the innovation of submersibles. Its vessels can reach 4,000 meters and are used for site surveys, research, media production and testing, according to the company’s website.

In addition to the Titanic trips, expeditions have included Pacific Northwest sites such as the Possession Sound and the Salish Sea, national marine sanctuaries in California and the Gulf of Mexico, and historic wrecks such as German and American vessels sunk in the Battle of the Atlantic and the USS Macon airship.

How much does the Titanic expedition cost?

While the initial group of tourists in 2021 paid $100,000 to $150,000 apiece, Reuters reported the 2023 expedition came out to $250,000 per person.

Are OceanGate vessels safe?

An OceanGate employee who complained the Titan could not safely reach extreme depths such as that of the Titanic was fired, according to The New Republic.

A 2018 legal case that was eventually settled involved former marine operations director David Lochridge refusing to sign off on manned tests due to worries about the safety of early models of the vessel, The New Republic reported.

During a Titan expedition in 2022, OceanGate reported the submersible had a battery issue on its first dive, and had to be manually attached to its lifting platform, according to a November court filing.

"In the high sea state, the submersible sustained modest damage to its external components and OceanGate decided to cancel the second mission for repairs and operational enhancements," the filing stated.

More missions, however, followed. The company reported that 28 people visited the Titanic wreck site last year.

The Titan was not classed, which is typically done to make sure vessels are safe, Insider reported, noting OceanGate said its submersible’s features were outside existing standards.

In 2019, Rush complained regulations were stifling his industry, according to Insider.

Other legal troubles

A Florida couple this year sued Rush, alleging they paid roughly $210,000 to visit the Titanic but never went on the trip because the Titan was not ready for the voyage in 2018 as promised, nor did they get a refund, according to the Daily Beast.

The expedition was postponed for three years due to testing and “equipment failure,” the outlet reported.

What’s the worst-case scenario?

The vessel is sealed from the outside, according to Reuters, which noted the Titanic is more than 12,000 feet underwater, where there is no light and water pressure is strong.

“I think it was going to be almost impossible to effect a sub-to-sub rescue,” Titanic expert Tim Matlin told the publication.

If those on board were exposed to deep-sea elements, they could be subject to severe hypothermia, lung collapse and suffocation, according to the University of Illinois.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.