Netflixjust releasedTitan: The OceanGate Disaster,a documentary that provides more insight into the tragic fate of the Titan submersible in 2023. The craziness reached its peak during the summer when the world watched in horror and dismay as five individuals descended into the abyss of the North Atlantic Ocean on an expedition to visit the wreckage site of the Titanic.What was intended to be a historical visit resulted in an implosion that killed OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, French deep-sea explorer and Titanic specialist Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani-British businessman Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman Dawood, and British businessman Hamish Harding,76 hours after they descended underwater. The search-and-rescue mission was a race against time, but the implosion occurred before they could be saved, turning the effort into a search-and-recovery mission. The submersible went missing on June 18 and was recovered four days later on June 22.
The documentary, directed by Mark Monroe, primarily focuses on Rush, the Titan submersible, the chaos during debris recovery, and the investigation that followed.Several people, including family members, former OceanGate employees, and a U.S. Coast Guard investigator, provided a closer look into the deceased individuals and revealed deficiencies in the submersible and Rush’s blatant disregard for safety protocols and legislation. In 2023, the expedition and its participants were heavily criticized by the public, which the documentary highlights by focusing on billionaires who appeared to see themselves as larger than life.
OceanGate Was an Expedition Doomed From the Start
Titan: The OceanGate Disaster
Titan: The OceanGate Disaster,directed by Mark Monroe, is Netflix’s latest documentary that examines the 2023 implosion ofthe Titan submersible, resulting in the deaths of five people.The tragedy captivated the world as it unfolded in real-time, and the documentary provides more in-depth insight into why the expedition failed, but most importantly, emphasizes that it could have been avoided. Stockton Rush, OceanGate’s CEO, created the submersible with the ambition of providing tourism to the Titanic wreckage, making him the Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos of deep-sea tourism.
What started as an innocent ambition unraveled into an obsession that resulted in careless negligence. The documentary examines the creation of the submersible and the materials used in the process, as Rush opted for cheaper, lightweight materials. He was thinking long-term about how these materials would enable the submersible to be mass-produced and used for other recreational purposes.
The documentary shares thatthe primary material used to build the Titan was carbon fiber as opposed to titanium, the standard material used for deep-sea submersibles. While carbon fiber checks off the boxes for being cheaper and lightweight, it’s not as durable as titanium, which increases the risks associated with making a deep-sea journey. There were, however, inconsistencies that were noticed when the carbon fiber submersible was undergoing trial runs. Tony Nissen, a former director of engineering at OceanGate, recalled that Rush tried to pass off any potential impediments as normal. However, Nissen knew that the snapping of the carbon fiber wasn’t something to shrug off.
Other OceanGate employees who were eager to work on this innovative submersible alsonoticed discrepancies and raised safety concernswith Rush, which he ignored and attempted to cover up, as well as firing the individuals who contradicted him. Other experts in deep-sea submersibles weighed in and confirmed that, despite some successful dives, carbon fiber isn’t a reliable material for deep-sea expeditions.
Rush Worked Around the Legal System To Push the Expedition to Fruition
Rush wasn’t painted in the best light, to put it mildly, in the documentary, as everyone who testified during the Coast Guard investigation hearing and who participated in the documentary confirmed that the OceanGate CEO was arrogant, narcissistic, and hubris-filled. Nissen went as far as to describe Rush as a “borderline clinical psychopath.” Ambition laced with narcissism is a destructive combination, and the result was the loss of life.
He firmly believed in his goals and did everything necessary to achieve them; a key factor in this was navigating the U.S. legal system. The documentary exposes the legal loopholes Rush exploited to avoid backlash or investigations during these trips. Robert McCallum, a formerOceanGate expedition leaderand deep-sea exploration expert, witnessed these shocking workarounds firsthand and revealed them clearly in the documentary.
“The term ‘mission specialist’ is a workaround. There are some rules about operating vessels at sea. Those rules differ based on whether you’re a crew member or a paying passenger. Stockton was trying to confuse them, ensuring that nobody was ever referred to as a passenger. It was just one of the steps OceanGate took to make sure they could work around U.S. legislation.”
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Former OceanGate employee Matthew McCoy made another disturbing revelation during the investigation hearing, and, according to his testimony,Rush allegedly stated that he was willing to “buy a congressman” to resolve any potential legal issues. For this reason, Rush flagged the Titan in the Bahamas and launched it from a Canadian dock to avoid U.S. jurisdiction. Several employees expressed their concern and were uncomfortable with the proceedings. In fact, David Lochridge mustered the courage to come forward and raise his fears and concerns with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
After the whistleblower’s identity was revealed to be Lochridge, he said thatRush retaliated against him and OceanGate’s lawyersthreatened his livelihood, from his home to his green card. Nissen corroborated Lochridge’s story by stating that the day Lochridge was fired, Rush had commented to him that “it would be nothing for me to spend $50,000 to ruin somebody’s life.” Unfortunately, Lochridge withdrew his countersuit against the company after a back-and-forth legal battle due to financial struggles, and the project proceeded.
The Five OceanGate Passengers Signed a Waiver That Mentioned “Death” Nine Times
Before the expedition began, the passengers had to sign a four-page Waiver and Release of Liability Agreement, which the Netflix documentary provided a glimpse of, where OceanGate admitted that the submersible and expedition were experimental. Therefore, there wererisks involving mental trauma and death. In the brief glimpse of the waiver, there were three mentions of “death” on page one. However,Business Insideracquired the full document and discovered thatthe contract mentioned “death” nine times, and also mentioned the word “risks” a total of 14 times and “injury” 10 times. It was surprisingly transparent about the number of successful dives, which was 13, admitting that its success rate was dangerously low.
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Monroe’s insightful documentary revealed that the Titan sustained significant damage to the hull on dive 80. This was the turning point, but Rush failed torepair the vessel properlyand continued with test dives. Despite Rush having this information, he still presented the waiver to the other four passengers, showing absolutely no regard for their safety. If anything,this documentary confirmed that this tragedy was avoidable, and had Rush set aside his narcissism and arrogance, the passengers might still be alive today.Titan: The OceanGate Disasteris streaming onNetflix.
