Under Pressure

Throughout the years there have been many public and far-reaching controversies, most notably those with the infamous “gate” suffix.

It all started with Watergate back in 1970 – the original scandal that involved the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters (in the Watergate complex), leading to investigations and eventually Nixon's resignation. Since then, there have been many others, ranging from the serious “Irangate” involving shady arms deals, to the subjectively silly “Nipplegate” when Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson’s breast during the football half-time show, and the conspiratorial “Pizzagate” that alleges a pizzeria called Comet Ping Pong in Washington D.C. was involved in a child sex trafficking ring; connected to prominent politicians, including members of the Democratic Party.

It should then probably come as little surprise that an enterprise called OceanGate would go for long without some sort of public disaster – perhaps the first portent, although less obvious, in a series of red flags that would be uncovered as the story of the doomed sub unfolded.

The submersible, aptly named the Titan, having shared a similar fate to its mission objective, the Titanic, set out on its expedition on the 16th of June and began its descent two days later. In addition to their names, the vessels share other unfortunate and peculiar similarities. Titanic, which went down on 15 April 1912, even owes its discovery to chance when it was discovered in 1985 by Oceanographer Robert Ballard while conducting a top-secret military expedition during the Cold War.

The other parallels are the obvious design flaws, the hubris of the designers, the lack of measures in case of emergency, and the elite status of its passengers. John Jacob Aster IV, worth $87 million (approximately $2 billion in today’s money), met his fate 111 years ago on the sinking ship. According to witnesses, he clung to the side of a raft, his pregnant wife Madeleine presumably inside, but eventually froze to death and drowned in the murky waters of the North Atlantic. Whether Madeleine could’ve made room on the raft, or whispered his name through blue lips and promised to never let go, we will never know. When rescuers recovered his body, they found $2,400 on him. All his money couldn’t afford him foresight to avoid the trip, and neither could it warm him from subfreezing temperatures.

The same goes for the crew of the Titan. Rich in dollars, but seemingly poor in common sense. Hindsight is always 20/20 they say, but here the ignorance, wilful or otherwise, merits discussion.

So, who were the ‘mission specialists’ (misclassified as such for legal reasons) that paid $250,000 to go down 3,840m to where the Titanic lay?

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-       British businessman Stockton Rush, founder and CEO of OceanGate (and with a name like that probably a bond villain in some alternate universe). Interestingly, his wife, Wendy Rush, is the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus, who reportedly chose to remain onboard the sinking Titanic so that others could escape safely in their stead – the real-life inspiration behind the tear-jerking scene in James Cameron's movie in which an elderly couple embrace in bed as water floods their room.

In 1981 at the age of 19, he became (at the time) the youngest jet transport-rated pilot in the world. He received a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from Princeton University and a business master's degree from UC Berkeley. In 1989, he even developed his own experimental aircraft – impressive credentials that no doubt contributed to his inflated ego and mystifying influence on the rest of the crew.

-        Hamish Harding, 58, and chairman of Action Aviation, an aviation sales and consulting company. More than that, he was described as an “explorer by nature” by NASA astronaut Terry Virts – a claim supported by three Guinness World Records. Most notable is the longest duration at a full ocean depth by a crewed vessel (4 hours and 15 minutes) and the longest distance traveled (4.63 km) along the deepest part of the ocean (11km) – the sea floor of Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench in the Deep-Submergence Vehicle (DSV). This was only two years ago on the 5th of March 2021. With such experience, why trust someone like Rush? And why so blind to obvious issues or accepting of the heightened risk? Surely Stockton’s unconventional sub design was different from the DSV? The first time I heard his name was on my local radio station Dubai Eye where he spoke about his intention to explore the RMS Titanic. He was articulate about his desire for adventure and his last interview was with The Agenda on Friday, June 9th 2023, hours before he was due to fly to Canada out of Dubai, where he was based.

-       Then there was Shahzada Dawoo. A Pakistani chairman and expert in mergers and acquisitions, also serving on various boards. Most interestingly on the board of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), a NASA-funded non-profit. A man with interests in law, textile marketing, and aliens. His attempt to add deep-sea explorer to his resume, tragically also let to the demise of his son, Suleman Dawood, a 19-yeard old college student who only agreed to go on the ill-fated trip as a Father’s Day present.

-       And finally, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, James Cameron look-alike and otherwise known as “Mister Titanic”. His CV is perhaps the biggest head-scratcher of all. He spent 22 years in the French Navy, obtaining the rank of commander. Upon retirement from the Navy in 1986, he oversaw two deep-sea submersibles at the French Institute for Research and Exploitation of the Sea. A year later he led the first recovery dive to the Titanic wreckage. In addition, he was the director of underwater research for RMS Titanic Inc., a company dedicated to preserving the history of the Titanic, and completed 37 dives in a submersible to the shipwreck over the course of his career, obtaining 5,000 of its artifacts. How could such experience fail him?

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So, what did they miss? A lot according to Jay and Sean Bloom, father and son duo who turned down ‘discounted’ tickets to board the Titan. Ironically, Jays is only a Las Vegas real estate developer (albeit a very successful one) with nowhere near the credentials of those that ended up paying the ultimate price. 20-yeard old Sean was the one that warned his father over concerns about the structural integrity of the sub and predicted looming disaster. According to him, Stockton brushed it off, probably like a used car salesman would when questioned about the accident history of a car.

The sub was made of carbon fiber composites (woven fibers bonded by epoxy) which are used for internal pressure vessels like a scuba tank. It was not intended to withstand external pressures of extreme ocean depths, which is why steel or various other materials are used for submersible designs. The other disadvantage is progressive damage after successive pressure cycles. According to OceanGate, they did 50 test dives to depths similar to the Titanic. The last dive was thus the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. These aren’t new discoveries either and should have been known to the likes of Hamish and Paul-Henri. It certainly was to Liz Taylor, DOER Marine Operations President, who warned Rush that people would be killed in the Titan. Again, he brushed it off. In 2018 the Marine Technology Society also wrote a letter urging him not to proceed. Like the Titanic’s lack of sufficient lifeboats, Stockton cut more corners by not building the sub in a pair to have self-rescue capacity, or with an ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle). And because he was operating in international waters, there was no way to impose restrictions or to enforce certification by a Naval body.

The weirdest and reddest flag to me personally was that the control unit was an off-the-shelf game controller. Being a gamer (rarely these days), I know how capricious the controller and Bluetooth connectivity can be at times. Not to mention the infamous ‘stick drift’ players have to contend with or adjust in the game’s settings. Seeing Rush toss the controller to the ground in the many clips on YouTube is just crazy and seems indicative of his general approach. Such a control mechanism could be apt for unmanned applications or as a novelty for passengers on the craft, but not the sole means of control. Not to mention that the loo was right next to the tiny viewing porthole. A nice seat to gawk at the unfortunate 111-year-old shipwreck to be sure, but the separating curtain wouldn’t have done much for the sounds and smells of a number 2 – of which there might have been many as the hull probably groaned angrily under the pressure prior to implosion.

Stockton, a white guy in his 50’s, said he hired young, innovative designers rather than white guys in their 50’s. Perhaps such cost-cutting in the guise of wokeness was his biggest mistake. The white old farts (expensive as they may be) would likely have pointed out all the issues, including that the damn thing had the people sealed inside, not even a plug-hatch openable from both sides. It would certainly have been on the quality report (including important components that are attached with zip ties) submitted by David Lockridge who was fired from OceanGate in January 2018 (ignored and buried in legal bulls subsequently).

Being entombed in a cylinder and dunked into darkness with five strangers is most people’s worst nightmare. Ranks high on my list for sure. Yet others would pay thousands for the privilege. The waiver itself mentions death numerous times, yet Mr. Dawoo allowed his son to take the risk with him, dooming his own legacy.

Then in other news, in the early morning hours of June 14th, due to, officially, suspected engine failure, an over-crowded fishing boat, reportedly en route to Italy, capsized approximately 47 Nautical miles from the coastal city of Pylos. Billed as the ‘worst ever Mediterranean tragedy’, 100 migrants have been rescued, 80 bodies recovered, and as many as 500 people, including children, missing and likely dead. It was spotted by a plane on the 13th, and according to survivors, the boat began to move after supporting vessels offered supplies and the people started fighting for it. The Greek Coast Guard is sticking with the Engine story though.

The real issue is not what the Greek authorities did, however, but why so many people are fleeing their home countries and taking such enormous risks to do so. These migrants were from Afghanistan, Egypt, Libya, the Palestinian territories, Pakistan, and Syria. And instead of fighting senseless wars and waiting or world-police America to deliver its brand of ‘Freedom,’ the world has a responsibility to come together to find long-term solutions in these countries.

Even when you Google “What boat sank in June 2023?” the Titan grabs the top spot in another eerie parallel with the class system of its decade-old namesake. Back then the lower-class passengers worked and slept in the bowels of the ship, while the rich drank champagne and breathed fresh ocean air. Then today, not even fatalities of migrants in the hundreds could displace the fate of an ill-conceived sub and its millionaire crew from the top spot in world media.

It also seems the Navy knew the Titan had imploded, via their acoustic sensors, mere hours after its descent. Yet they left us all to speculate what might have happened to Stockton and Co. Only on the 22nd of June did they acknowledge that an ROV found the Titan’s nose cone approximately 500m from the bow of the Titanic on the seafloor. In the meanwhile, we collectively didn’t pay much attention to anything else that was happening in world news. Whether the decision to keep their suspicion quiet was by design or otherwise, we will never know. What I do know is that when the Titan was presumed lost, millions were spent (and ultimately wasted) on its rescue. Not the same expense spared for the hundreds that fell from a rickety fishing boat, praying to reach Europe and a better life.

I remember sitting in my car on my way to work wondering what the Titan crew might be going through at that very moment. How Stockton would be huddled in a corner, mumbling to himself while fidgeting with his budget controller, or how Hamish may have been screaming his regret and banging against the hull, or how Mr. Dawoo was surely apologizing to his son, terrified and crying about a life he would never get to live… But none of that happened.

Instead, thankfully, there was no suffering at all. When a submarine hull collapses, it moves inward at about 2,414km/h - or 671m per second. The time required for complete collapse is about one millisecond or one-thousandth of a second. The human brain responds instinctually to stimulus at about 25 milliseconds, and rational response - from sensing to acting - is believed to be at best 150 milliseconds. But the collapse is not the only thing their bodies would have been subjected to. The air inside a sub has a fairly high concentration of hydrocarbon vapors, and when the hull collapses, the air auto-ignites and an explosion follows the initial implosion.

One instant excited, a little scared, perhaps sharing a joke or tale among explorers, and the next moment turned to ash and dust nearly instantaneously.

The ultimate unanswerable question is, how so many warning signs went unnoticed by presumably intelligent people. Was it the sheer hubris and sense of invincibility of extreme wealth? And could such resources not be better spent elsewhere? Like meaningfully contributing to a world where we still have multitudes of desperate people escaping mismanaged and corrupt governments. How easily we overlook the suffering of the poor and instead pay attention to the fates of the ultra-rich. Perhaps we are just wired subconsciously to be fascinated by the fall of those much higher up the social hierarchy.

Of course, my deepest sympathies to the families that lost loved ones. We will always need explorers, those that look at impossible odds and dare to overcome them. But let us temper our desire for exploration and discovery with due diligence and collective wisdom.

And now, OceanGate will either go again or languish and liquidate at the hands of the court. Let us hope that those brave souls contemplating the next frontier, be it deep water or space, can learn lessons from this avoidable tragedy and aim to be better.