“OceanGate has suspended its explorations and commercial operations”is it now written on the company’s website OceanGateExpeditions.com. A message appeared Thursday, July 6, 2023 without further details. However, it is still possible to consult the presentations of the expeditions offered by the underwater expedition company, in particular the one to the wreck of the Titanic, sadly known around the globe for being one of the greatest maritime disasters of the 20th century. The boss of the company is one of the victims of the trip in the submersible which imploded with four other people on board near the wreck of the Titanic, during the month of June 2023. After the tragedy, the machines of OceanGate Expeditions were particularly criticized. Doubts have emerged about the safety of these devices.
Safety instructions that would have been ignored
As a reminder, on Sunday June 18, 2023, the Titan, a small submersible about 6.5 meters long, dived to observe the wreck of the Titanic. Initially, the craft was to resurface seven hours later. But unfortunately, contact was lost less than two hours after he left. As soon as the Titan disappeared, criticism focused on the company OceanGate, suspected of negligence. A very large rescue operation, publicized around the world, had been undertaken to try to find the passengers. The device was found to have imploded shortly after its dive, killing all five men instantly, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush. The debris, found at a depth of 4,000 meters, was brought to the surface to be analyzed by teams from Canada and the United States. The objective is to try to determine the causes of the implosion, specified The Parisian Thursday, July 6, 2023. Our colleagues also revealed that in court documents from 2018, David Lochridge, a former executive of the company, said he was fired after doubting the safety of the submersible. He said that the window of the device was not designed to withstand the pressure suffered at 4,000 meters deep, which put the lives of passengers in danger.