OceanGate whistleblower says Titan sub tragedy was ‘inevitable’

Mr Lockridge was one of as many as 10 former OceanGate employees, including co-founder Guillermo Sohnlein, and experts in marine safety and undersea exploration expected to speak to Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigations (MBI).

On Monday, officials detailed communications between the Titan and its mother ship, the Polar Prince.

It was revealed “all good here” was one of the final messages from the five-person crew of the Titan submersible before it imploded.

OceanGate’s former engineering director Tony Nissen told the hearing that he once refused to get into experimental craft several years before Titan’s last trip.

“‘I’m not getting in it,’” Mr Nissen said he told the company CEO, Rush, testifying that he had felt pressured to get the vessel ready to dive.

While offering a historical look at the Titan, officials noted it was never subject to third-party testing and had been left exposed to weather and other elements while in storage.

They noted that during 13 dives to the Titanic in 2021 and 2022, the submersible had 118 equipment issues.

Officials also offered a handful of specific examples of submersible failures including its batteries dying and leaving passengers stuck inside for 27 hours.

As well as OceanGate’s CEO, British explorer Hamish Harding, veteran French diver Paul Henri Nargeolet, the British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman were on board the ship.

OceanGate suspended all exploration and commercial operations following the incident.