OceanGate’s CEO Didn’t Want Experienced 50yo Guys in His Team Because They Were Not Inspirational

Titan, the submersible designed to bring passengers deep down into the ocean to watch the Titanic shipwreck at the bottom of the sea was designed by OceanGate. The company’s CEO, Stockton Rush was among the 5 victims in a recent tragedy that shook the world.

One might wonder – did Stockton not hire any experienced submariners to guide him in designing the submersible and taking into account the safety guidelines, and the amount of pressure that Titan could withstand? According to an undated Zoom interview that resurfaced on the Internet, that was exactly what Stockton DID NOT want in his company – old white guys.

Stockton on the left

“I wanted a team of young and inspirational individuals”

Stockton highlighted the typical sub-operators out there which mostly have seasoned military personnel and submariners working for them, and he emphasised that is not the ideal scenario he had in mind.

“I didn’t want a bunch of 50-year-old guys. They weren’t inspirational.”

Of course, Stockton wasn’t going to recruit anyone as young as 16 for the job. But a 25-year-old? That might just work.

“You know, who’s a sub pilot or a platform operator or 1 of our techs can be inspirational.”

He also said that he’s aiming for young and inspirational individuals, who are intelligent and motivated because he was doing things differently, claiming that he was taking approaches that are widely utilised in the aerospace industry.

He aimed to train people to drive the sub with a game controller, which was similarly used to control the now-imploded Titan.

“We can train people to pilot the sub using a game controller, so anyone can drive the sub,” Stockton reportedly said during the interview.

The entire journey to reach the Titanic wreck was supposed to take only 10 hours but unfortunately, everyone onboard was dead long before Titan was halfway. Titan was only designed to withstand underwater pressure as deep as 1,300 m, but OceanGate wanted to take passengers as deep as 4,000 m.

OceanGate officials were also criticised for only reporting about the missing submersible 8 hours after they had lost contact with the passengers.

Our heartfelt condolences go to the victims and their mourning family members. Let’s just be blunt. The Titanic wreck at the bottom of the sea is a gravesite that should be left undisturbed. Mother Nature has no mercy and certain parts of the world should be left unexplored.

Also read: All 5 Passengers of Titanic-Bound Submersible Died After Implosion, US Coast Guard Confirms