OceanGate
On Monday, June 19th, 2023, OceanGate Expeditions reported that a five-person crew aboard their Titan submersible had gone missing on Sunday. As the 22-foot submersible began its 12,800-foot descent to the Titanic, it lost contact with the control room. The submersible is recorded to have had 96 hours worth of Life Support for a five-person crew.
The Titanic sits at 13,000 feet below sea level. According to the U.S. Navy typical submarines are designed to descend to about 3000 feet. Among the crew are Pakistani Billionaire Shahzada Dawood, and his son, Sulaiman; British Billionaire Hamish Harding, who traveled to space with Jeff Bezos aboard Blue Origin; and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, an experienced deep diver, and former French Navy, known as “Mr. Titanic;” according to the New York Post. With a price tag of $250,000.00 per person, the current OceanGate disaster reveals the importance of ensuring safety before focusing on making a profit.
Stockton Rush, a self-proclaimed “successful businessman” founded the privately-owned company OceanGate Inc. in 2009. After completing only 14 successful expeditions, and “200 dives,” Rush felt it was time to send civilians to the depth of the ocean for profit. This is another example of an individual’s desire for wealth and power, selling unsafe products to the public before they can be properly tested. In this instance, however, Stockton Rush fell victim to his own negligence, as he exists among the five passengers currently trapped aboard the Titan.
As this incident occurred through a private company, the American people were made aware. It remains harrowing to reflect on the incidents that occur through government bureaucracies and federal agencies, that remain undisclosed. Consumers have long experienced other entities' "trusted products," only to later find out they had been recalled due to negligent practice. This instance is no exception, and stands as a warning behind always trusting unregulated experts, potentially skewed data, or basing personal objective truth on a private company's artificial innovation.
OceanGate’s Titan
Boasting of a “proprietary real-time hull health monitoring (RTM) system,” OceanGate’s official website reports that the vessel features, “onboard health analysis monitoring system [that] provides early warning detection for the pilot with enough time to arrest the descent and safely return to surface…A combination of ground-breaking engineering and off-the-shelf technology gives Titan a unique advantage over other deep diving subs...The use off-the-shelf components helped to streamline the construction, and makes it simple to operate and replace parts in the field.”
In an attempt to preserve its own image, OceanGate released a Media Brief on June 19th, 2023, declaring, “We are exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely. Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families. We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible. We are working toward the safe return of the crewmembers.”
Control Room Commentary
David Pogue, who worked from a ship on the surface in the control room on previous a expedition, describes seven different ways to return to the surface. Pogue stated the two things that could’ve happened is that it has is stuck on something below the surface, or there was a leak. Providing the best possible explanation, Pogue hopes that they are floating on top of the ocean without power.
If they are trapped below the surface, there exist only three operational submarines in the world that can travel to that depth, stated Pogue. If there are trapped 13,000 feet below the surface, and they are discovered, there will be no way for us to recover them. The hatch is sealed with 17 bolts from the outside, so there is no way to escape without an external crew.
Conclusion
OceanGate stands as a permanent reminder, that those who strive to persuade your wallet, likely neglect your overall longevity and well-being. The pursuit of the dollar presides over human compassion, and it is up to the consumer to think twice before they invest in another entity’s utopia. For our federal government stands to inflict the same cognitive deception upon the taxpayer, and those that fall under its authority. May God bless those aboard the Titan submersible, as we pray for their safe return.
Bibliography
Navalpost. (Accessed June 20th, 2023). How deep can a submarine dive? - Naval Post- Naval News and Information. https://navalpost.com/how-deep-can-a-submarine-dive/
Nbcnews. (Accessed June 20th, 2023). Titanic missing submersible live updates: Search in Atlantic as passengers identified. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/titanic-missing-submersible-live-updates-rcna90103
Nypost. (Accessed on June 20th, 2023). Who are the five people aboard the missing Titanic sub? https://nypost.com/2023/06/20/who-are-the-five-people-aboard-the-missing-titanic-sub/
Oceangate. (Accessed June 20th, 2023). OceanGate About. https://oceangate.com/about.html.
Oceangate. (Accessed June 20th, 2023). Titan Submersible. https://oceangate.com/our-subs/titan-submersible.html.
Twitter. (Accessed June 20th, 2023). David Pogue on Twitter: "As we monitor the lost @OceanGateExped sub to the #Titanic, two reasons for hope. First, they have 96 hours of oxygen on board. Second, they have SEVEN different ways to rise to the surface—multiple redundant ballast and air-bladder systems. Twitter. https://twitter.com/pogue/status/1670838178528346119?s=61&t=u6cpN0mb3J9oFHdvDLbKQA.
Twitter. (Accessed June 20th, 2023). David Pogue on Twitter: "@prdx2222 @OceanGateExped There are really only two possibilities. Either they got entangled in a “ghost net” (abandoned fishing net, miles long), or they’ve got a leak. Both are very, very serious." / Twitter. https://twitter.com/Pogue/status/1670855851958042629.
Twitter. (Accessed June 20th, 2023). David Pogue on Twitter: "@tomokc405 This submersible does not have any kind of beacon like that. On my expedition last summer, they did indeed get lost for about 5 hours, and adding such a beacon was discussed…" / Twitter. https://twitter.com/Pogue/status/1670826522138091521?s=20.
Twitter. (Accessed June 20th, 2023). David Pogue on Twitter: "@MarinusTrades @tomokc405 To be clear, I was not on the sub that day—I was on the ship at the surface, in the control room. They could still send short texts to the sub, but did not know where it was. It was quiet and very tense, and they shut off the ship’s internet to prevent us from tweeting." / Twitter. https://twitter.com/pogue/status/1670835763536183297?s=61&t=u6cpN0mb3J9oFHdvDLbKQA