Concerns were raised back in 2018 about the safety of a submersible vessel that has been missing since Sunday, when it descended with tourists on a deep ocean journey to view the wreckage of the Titanic.
The pilot and four passengers are aboard and the available oxygen on the vehicle has been forecast to run out Thursday morning.
The Titan submersible is a 22-foot (6.7-meter)-long vessel operated by Everett, Washington-based OceanGate Expeditions. It first made a voyage dive to 4,000 meters (13,100 feet) in December of 2018, according to the company's website, and first dove to the site of the Titanic - which lies on the seabed at a depth of about 3,800 meters - in 2021. It planned to make 18 such dives this year.
But some experts had worried about its safety, with a former employee and members of a trade group both expressing concerns about the design of the Titan vessel during its development.
On Jan. 18, 2018, OceanGate employee David Lochridge forwarded to the company's leaders an engineering report he had authored that was critical of OceanGate's research and development process for the Titan, according to lawsuits Lochridge and OceanGate filed against one another that year. In particular, Lochridge was concerned about the design of the hull and its ability to withstand the intense pressures of deep waters.
The company called a meeting the next day to discuss Lochridge's concerns, according to the lawsuits. At the conclusion of the meeting, Lochridge stated he could not accept OceanGate's design decisions and would not authorize any crewed voyage without further testing. He was then fired.
OceanGate filed a lawsuit against Lochridge in June and July of 2018 alleging he had discussed confidential information with at least two other people. Lochridge countersued in August 2018, denying that and claiming that OceanGate's lawsuit was an effort to discourage "whistleblowers from coming forth with quality control issues and safety concerns that threaten the safety of innocent passengers."
OceanGate did not respond to requests for comment. Lochridge, through his lawyer, said he had no comment.
LETTER FROM PEERS
Will Kohnen, the chairman of the Marine Technology Society's (MTS) committee on manned submersibles, addressed a letter dated March 27, 2018, to OceanGate founder and CEO Stockton Rush, who is piloting the missing vehicle. In the letter, Kohnen expressed what he said were widespread concerns about the Titan sub.
The problem, Kohnen said in a Wednesday interview with Reuters, was not any single design flaw. The issue was that OceanGate did not go through the industry's recognized certification process for the sub's design, fabrication and testing.
"Our apprehension is that the current experimental approach adopted by OceanGate could result in negative outcomes (from minor to catastrophic) that would have serious consequences for everyone in the industry," read Kohnen's letter.
Kohnen asked the MTS board in 2018 to officially send the letter on behalf of the entire society to Stockton. The board would not do that, saying it was not within their scope as an organization, Kohnen said.
The letter came about, Kohnen said, after submarine experts attending an annual symposium expressed concerns that OceanGate would not allow certification of Titan by DNV GL, an independent quality assurance and risk management company that sets standards for the design safety of underwater vehicles.
DNV GL states on its website that it has over 40 years of experience in the field of underwater vehicles. It certifies the design and safety of such vehicles.
But it never certified Titan, according to MTS and Lochridge's lawsuit. DNV GL did not reply to requests for comment.
The letter said experts believed OceanGate should at least create a prototype testing program for the Titan that would be reviewed by DNV GL, stating that "it is our unanimous view that this validation process by a third-party is a critical component in the safeguards that protect all submersible occupants."
Stockton was sent a draft of the letter and discussed its contents in a 2018 phone call with Kohnen, in which the men "agreed to disagree" about the safety concerns raised, Kohnen said.
ALSO READ - Time running out for Titanic sub as search focuses on undersea sounds
Reuters
Thu Jun 22 2023
The Titan submersible, operated by OceanGate Expeditions to explore the wreckage of the sunken Titanic off the coast of Newfoundland, dives in an undated photograph. - OceanGate Expeditions/via REUTERS
AWANI Pagi: Reformasi sistem pendidikan melalui inovasi
Memahami peranan inovasi untuk reformasi sistem pendidikan yang mampan. Diskusi bersama Datuk Dr. Ahmad Ramzi, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif UMT Holdings dan Zul Fikri Zamir, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif 'Untuk Malaysia' 8.30 pagi nanti
Polis kesan pemandu treler sebabkan serpihan besi jatuh di LPT
Polis memohon kerjasama mana-mana pihak yang melihat kejadian tersebut untuk tampil bagi membantu siasatan.
Warga emas nyaris maut digigit tikus
Doktor yang melakukan ujian awal mendapati buah pinggang lelaki itu telah rosak selain mempunyai platelet darah rendah.
Pelajar Columbia sifatkan NYPD kejam, ngeri
Polis New York City menahan berpuluh-puluh penunjuk perasaan pro-Palestin yang bersembunyi di Hamilton Hall, Columbia.
AWANI Ringkas: Selesaikan isu bekalan air, susulan cuaca panas
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
AWANI Pagi: Berita tumpuan & menarik di astroawani.com [3 Mei 2024]
Antara fokus Awani Pagi bersama Geegee Ahmad & Nursyazwani Saiful Sham
Microsoft umum pelaburan AI, infrastruktur awan AS$2.2 bilion di Malaysia
PM arah Agensi Pintu Masuk dan Sempadan Malaysia jalan tugas serta-merta
Siti Bainun kekal bersalah abai, aniaya Bella
Microsoft umum pelaburan AI, infrastruktur awan AS$2.2 bilion di Malaysia
PM arah Agensi Pintu Masuk dan Sempadan Malaysia jalan tugas serta-merta
Siti Bainun kekal bersalah abai, aniaya Bella
Delegasi Hamas akan ke Mesir untuk rudingan gencatan senjata - Ismail Haniyeh
Delegasi Hamas akan ke Mesir bagi meneruskan perbincangan secara tidak langsung dengan Israel untuk gencatan senjata di Semenanjung Gaza.
Pembinaan semula Gaza ambil masa berdekad lamanya
Pembinaan semula infrastruktur kediaman yang musnah di Gaza akan mengambil masa sehingga 2040.
Sudah lebih 40 hari Aliff tidak bercakap dengan Bella, anak-anak
Aliff berasa takut untuk mendengar suara Bella setelah sekian lama tidak menghubungi isterinya itu.
Aliff Aziz 'buka mulut’ isu ditangkap khalwat dengan Ruhainies
Enggan tuding jari pada Bella Astilah yang didakwa menjadi dalang, sebaliknya, anggap itu kesilapan sendiri.
Pengarah filem Titanic, nafi akan hasilkan filem insiden OceanGate
Cameron menafikan spekulasi bahawa beliau sedang mempertimbangkan untuk menghasilkan filem mengenai malapetaka kapal selam itu.
OceanGate tangguh semua operasi eksplorasi, komersial susulan kecelakaan Titan
OceanGate pada Khamis menerusi laman sesawangnya mengumumkan bahawa "semua operasi eksplorasi dan komersial" syarikat itu akan ditangguhkan.
Cebisan mayat ditemui dalam serpihan kapal selam Titan
Serpihan kapal selam berkenaan, yang meletup ketika misi ekspedisi melihat bangkai Titanic, telah dibawa ke Pelabuhan St John di Kanada.
Tragedi Titan: Pengawal Pantai Amerika siasat punca kapal selam meletup
Siasatan menyeluruh dilakukan bagi merungkai persoalan mengenai ketiadaan peraturan berhubung ekspedisi Titan ke lokasi bangkai Titanic.
Kanada dan AS siasat insiden kapal selam Titan
Lembaga Keselamatan Pengangkutan Kebangsaan AS menyatakan bahawa Pengawal Pantai AS akan memimpin siasatan mengenai insiden kapal selam itu.
Tragedi Titan: CEO abai amaran tahap keselamatan kapal selam
Pakar penyelidikan laut dalam pernah berbincang mengenai keupayaan Titan menyertai ekspedisi laut dalam dengan CEO OceanGate yang juga mangsa tragedi itu.
Kapal induk Titan dakwa operasinya 'sangat selamat'
Jurucakap kapal induk kepada kapal selam Titan yang kini hilang di luar pantai Kanada mempertahankan OceanGate dengan mendakwa syarikat itu menjalankan "operasi yang sangat selamat".
Kapal selam saksikan bangkai Titanic hilang, jutawan British antara mangsa
Hubungan dengan kapal selam tersebut hilang kira-kira satu jam dan 45 minit selepas ia berlepas.