Nearly ten years before the tragic dive of the Titan submersible, the marine operations director for the operating company raised alarms about severe safety risks. David Lochridge, who assessed the experimental vessel during its construction, expressed his lack of confidence in its safety standards when he spoke to Coast Guard investigators. He predicted that an incident was unavoidable, stating, “It was inevitable something was going to happen. It was just (a question of) when.”
The Titan submersible disappeared last June, shortly after beginning its journey to the Titanic wreck site. After four days of searching, the wreckage was located on the ocean floor, revealing the remains of five passengers. Investigators concluded that the submersible had imploded.
The Coast Guard is currently conducting an extensive investigation into the incident and is holding public hearings over the next two weeks in North Charleston to determine accountability.
Lochridge detailed his experience at OceanGate, the company behind the Titan, between 2015 and 2018, highlighting numerous warning signs related to safety. He voiced concerns regarding the materials used in the submersible’s construction and questioned why it was not classified, which would have allowed outside experts to assess its safety.
Despite raising these issues with OceanGate’s CEO, Stockton Rush, Lochridge felt his concerns were consistently disregarded. He believes the company prioritized cost-cutting and expediency over safety in its drive to profit from Titanic expeditions.
In 2018, Lochridge documented his safety concerns in an inspection report for an earlier version of the Titan, but he was subsequently terminated from his position. Undeterred, he reported the safety issues to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Although he was promised assistance from a case worker, Lochridge claims that, after ten months in a whistleblower protection program, he received little progress due to the worker’s heavy case load. He stated, “I believe that if OSHA had attempted to investigate the seriousness of the concerns I raised on multiple occasions, this tragedy may have been prevented.”
As hearings continue, initial testimonies have delved into technical aspects of the submersible’s design, including potential safety flaws in its viewpoint window for deep dives, the use of carbon fiber in parts of the structure instead of stronger titanium, and possible weak connections between various materials used.
Lochridge is among ten former OceanGate employees set to testify in front of the Marine Board Investigation, the Coast Guard’s top tier of inquiry. A total of 24 witnesses are expected to provide testimonies. Notably absent from the witness list is Rush’s wife, who served as OceanGate’s communications director; her husband was piloting the Titan during its last mission.