TITANIC! Another disaster waiting to happen?

(Biographical details from Wikipedia. Further images would not transfer)

Questions remain over the sea worthiness of this novel and experimental vehicle and whether the owner recklessly put lives at risk including his own?

https://people.com/titanic-director-james-cameron-calls-submarine-deaths-astonishing-7552324

On Thursday afternoon (22.6.2023) 'OceanGate Expeditions' announced that the 5 people onboard its missing submersible, which lost contact with their support ship, MV Polar Prince, less than two hours into the dive on June 18th, had died. These were: 

Stockton Rush (61) (CEO 'OceanGate')

Shahzada Dawood 

(His son) Suleman Dawood

Hamish Harding,  

Paul-Henri Nargeolet

Debris found by a remotely operated vehicle deployed by the Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic approximately 490 metres (1,600 ft) from the bow of the Titanic, were parts of the Titan submersible and confirmed it had been destroyed by a catastrophic implosion.

From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockton_Rush#cite_note-safe-21) we learn of some interesting biographical facts.

Stockton Rush owes his name to two signatories of the American Declaration of Independence - Benjamin Rush and Richard Stockton. In 1986 Rush married Wendy Weil in 1986 who is by a strange twist of fate, a great-great-granddaughter of Isador and Ida Straus, both of whom died in the sinking of the Titanic. She is Director of Communications at OceanGate.

Stocton was born into a relatively wealthy San Fransisco family in 1962 and always exhibited a spirit of exploration and adventure. His ambition to become an astronaut was frustrated by defects to his eye sight, so he turned his intentions to underwater exploration in home-made submersibles instead. His rather flamboyant attitude to safety in general and the safety of his craft in particular, has been noted. 

Although a qualified flight test engineer for McDonnell Douglas F15 Eagle Jets and holding a Princeton degree in aerospace engineering and another in Buisness administration from Berkeley, his attitude to risk now appears reckless and has cost the lives of four others. 

A year prior to the disaster, in a CBS interview with David Pogue he is quoted as saying:  "You know, at some point, safety just is pure waste. I mean if you just want to be safe, don't get out of bed, don't get in your car, don't do anything. At some point, you're going to take some risk, and it really is a risk/reward question. I think I can do this just as safely by breaking the rules."

Shahzada Dawood (48) was a businessman of Pakistan birth who made his money from in textiles, fertilizers, foods, and energy in public-listed companies. In 2023 his net worth was approximately 350 million USD In 2012, He became a Maltese citizen and thus of the EU, in 2016. Dawood was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum 2012 and  a member of the Global Advisory Board for Prince's Trust International, a charity founded by King Charles III. His wife Christine Dawood, born in Germany, has just said it was intended she would be on the fated submersible but her son Suleman (19)  went in her place and sadly died with the other four. One sibling remains.

George Hamish Livingston Harding (59) was a British businessman, pilot, adventurer and space tourist based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He was the founder of Action Group and was chairman of Action Aviation, an international aircraft brokerage company with headquarters in Dugai, UAE. He was a member of The Explorers Club who visited the South Pole several times, descended into the Mariana Trench, travelled into space and held several Guinness World Records.

Paul-Henri Nargeolet (77) was a French deep sea explorer and and Titanic expert. Known as "Mr. Titanic". He had done five previous dives to the wreck and many more to other wrecks besides. Given his expertise, it is perhaps surprising he was not more critical of the OceanGate vehicle on which he lost his life. His professional life was spent in the French Navy specialising in under-water recovery, terminating as a Frigate Captain.

As usual, strange 'coincidences'!

https://twitter.com/shae33172/status/1671993319017070594?s=20&fbclid=IwAR0Kx7QKtp7sDrff1evPUWDyCfWT6P697UlM7lyncNPdwD3StvcRMTiqTm4

Titanic sub implosion: Canadian police looking into deaths of five people onboard

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said a team of investigators had been established with the "sole purpose" of determining whether a criminal investigation would be warranted.

Sunday 25 June 2023

http://news.sky.com/story/titanic-sub-implosion-canadian-police-looking-into-deaths-of-five-people-onboard-12909036

Canadian police are looking into the deaths of five people killed in the implosion of the Titan submersible.

Superintendent Kent Osmond, of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, has confirmed it was looking into the circumstances of the doomed voyage to the Titanic.

He said a team of investigators had been established with the "sole purpose" of determining whether a criminal investigation would be warranted.

Interviews took place with people on board Titan's main support ship, the Polar Prince, on Saturday as part of the force's investigations, the officer added.

After the US Coastguard confirmed all five people onboard were presumed dead, Supt Osmond said "we will now look at the circumstances that led to those deaths".

Asked whether the force had any suspicion of criminal activity, Supt Osmond replied: "There is no suspicion of criminal activity per se, but the RCMP is taking initial steps to assess whether or not we will go down that road."

As well as the police probe, Canadian safety officials have announced their own investigation.

The Transportation Safety Board said on Friday that it had sent a team to St John's in Newfoundland to gather information and interview people.