Titan Submersible Vessel

tek · #26

The OceanGate CEO who is trapped on a 22-foot submersible on an ill-fated voyage to see the Titanic wreck once explained how he didn’t hire “50-year-old white guys” with military experience to captain his vessels because they weren’t “inspirational.”
Stockton Rush, 61, added that such expertise was unnecessary because “anybody can drive the sub” with a $30 video game controller.
“When I started the business, one of the things you’ll find, there are other sub-operators out there, but they typically have, uh, gentlemen who are ex-military submariners, and they ? you’ll see a whole bunch of 50-year-old white guys,” Rush told Teledyne Marine in a newly resurfaced undated Zoom interview.
“I wanted our team to be younger, to be inspirational and I’m not going to inspire a 16-year-old to go pursue marine technology, but a 25-year-old, uh, you know, who’s a sub pilot or a platform operator or one of our techs can be inspirational,” he continued.

#27

According to a story in WaPo or Guardian(?), it cost $250,000 per person to do that tour.

Jim · #28

AndyinPA wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 2:34 pm According to a story in WaPo or Guardian(?), it cost $250,000 per person to do that tour.

Wonder what the insurance rate for going down in one of those things cost?

much ado · #29

Jim wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 2:59 pm
AndyinPA wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 2:34 pm According to a story in WaPo or Guardian(?), it cost $250,000 per person to do that tour.
Wonder what the insurance rate for going down in one of those things cost?

When you're that rich, you don't need no stinkin' insurance.

Volkonski · #30

AndyinPA wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 2:34 pm According to a story in WaPo or Guardian(?), it cost $250,000 per person to do that tour.

And don't forget to tip your sub pilot at least 15%.

#31

Voyage to Titanic wreckage is a ‘suicide mission’, says German explorer
Arthur Loibl, who visited the site in 2021 in the OceanGate Titan submersible, said he was ‘incredibly lucky’ to survive his trip

A German adventurer who went to the site of the Titanic wreck two years ago on the missing Titan submersible has described the voyage as a “suicide mission”....

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/ ... hur-loibl/
Paywall.

#32

Jim wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 2:59 pm
AndyinPA wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 2:34 pm According to a story in WaPo or Guardian(?), it cost $250,000 per person to do that tour.
Wonder what the insurance rate for going down in one of those things cost?

Nothing, if you go barefoot (which I expect is the case).

Suranis · #33

AndyinPA wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 2:34 pm According to a story in WaPo or Guardian(?), it cost $250,000 per person to do that tour.

Ya. And what do you get for your quarter of a Million bucks? You drop like a stone for two and a half hours to get to the wreck. Then, you spend most of your time looking at cameras as you have one porthole as a window. Where the view isn't that good anyway as it has to be thick as heck to be rated for the pressure that down. Then you spend 3 and a half hours going back up. You cant stand up or walk around for the whole trip as the sub is too narrow.

Alternatively you can sit in the boat, send down a drone with cameras, drink martinis. And you can have fun driving the drone around and the convenience of being able to go to the toilet. And if the drone fails no lives are lost.

I feel a bit guilty about not really being upset at these people dying, but it really was a disaster waiting to happen. The people involved sound like first class idiots. Basic safety is boring, but helps people enjoy getting to old age.

#34

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#35

Um, I don't think getting into your car equals going into one of the most formidable places on the planet without safety features. Your car certainly has more than you seem to have on that submersible.

RTH10260 · #36

may be worth the time to listen to

I guess this was what our Mouse aka Suranis referenced futher up.

Reality Check · #37

My only regret is that the anti regulatory asshole Elon Musk didn't join CEO Stockton Rush. They sound like kindred souls. As for the rest? You can't fix stupid. Looks like the Darwin award win for 2023 is in the bag.

Suranis · #38

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#39

Suranis wrote: ↑Thu Jun 22, 2023 2:44 amsub.jpg

Looks like a cozy tomb for these crazies.

I've seen a couple of documentary videos over the years of the Titanic wreck at the bottom from the comfort of my living room.

#40

neonzx wrote: ↑Thu Jun 22, 2023 3:16 am
Suranis wrote: ↑Thu Jun 22, 2023 2:44 amsub.jpg
Looks like a cozy tomb for these crazies.

I've seen a couple of documentary videos over the years of the Titanic wreck at the bottom from the comfort of my living room.

busterbunker · #41

A helluva lot of inheritance just went down Davy Jones' locker. Oceangate might make Watergate look like a drop in the bucket. Chalk up another ship to the Hubris Triangle.

Hey, it's a writers strike, we gotta write our own lines, just filling in.

#42

Harding's final words with his wife: "Honey, you feed the dog. I'll feed the fish."

tek · #43

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Flatpoint High · #44

and the Conspiracies have begun

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#45

Oh, the irony. Some rich dude complains about safety regulations and then his submersible goes down while viewing a ship whose sinking helped create a bunch of safety regulations.

#46

#47

somerset wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 3:54 pm
Jim wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 2:59 pm
AndyinPA wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 2:34 pm According to a story in WaPo or Guardian(?), it cost $250,000 per person to do that tour.
Wonder what the insurance rate for going down in one of those things cost?
Nothing, if you go barefoot (which I expect is the case).

There was a discussion on CNN about this - they were not able to get insurance. And passengers had to sign a waiver that basically says they know this is experimental and they can die. Not sure this really holds up when families ultimately file their lawsuits as I suspect at this point they probably will not be found, raised to the surface, and hatch opened while they are still alive. Or possibly ever. I'm not even sure they could keep their body temperature above 95 degrees for as many hours as they had oxygen. It would be damn cold inside that thing. I'm sure they huddled together, but it's been over four days at this point at probably near freezing or freezing temperature.

#48

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/exped ... r-AA1cRmd8

"Expedition Unknown" host Josh Gates considered dedicating an episode of his Discovery Plus docuseries to the mysteries of the sunken Titanic but after trying out the OceanGate's Titan sub decided to pass.

As the search for the five people in the company's tiny submersible entered its fourth day, with oxygen and hope running out, Gates tweeted, "I had the unique opportunity to dive in the @Oceangate

#Titan sub with Stockton at the helm in preparation for its maiden mission to Titanic."

He continued, "To those asking, #Titan did not perform well on my dive. Ultimately, I walked away from a huge opportunity to film Titanic due to my safety concerns w/ the @OceanGate platform. There's more to the history and design of Titan that has not been made public – much of it concerning."

#49

Oh no. It is being reported that a debris field has been located near the Titanic. It's being evaluated and today's update has been delayed until 3 PM EST instead of the usual 1 PM EST.

Sequoia32 · #50

This has all been sickening. Have to keep telling myself to change the subject in my mind.

I hope if the debris field is them, that they went early and quickly.