OceanGate ex-employee testifies on ignored safety concerns: Titan sub disaster was 'inevitable'

A former employee of the company responsible for the ill-fated Titan submersible told a public hearing that he believed a safety incident was "inevitable" as the company "bypassed" standard regulations.

OceanGate's former operations director, David Lochridge, testified before US Coast Guard investigators that he had raised concerns about potential safety issues prior to his dismissal in 2018, but his warnings were disregarded.

The five people aboard the Titan sub died when the experimental deep-sea vessel imploded in June 2023 during its planned descent to the Titanic wreck.

The public hearings began on Monday as part of a two-week investigation by the US Coast Guard into the disaster, which has been ongoing for 15 months.

Mr. Lochridge's much-anticipated testimony on Tuesday marked his first public statement since voicing concerns to his former employer.

He was terminated from OceanGate and subsequently sued by the company for breaching confidentiality. In response, he filed a countersuit for wrongful termination.

As a significant former employee, Mr. Lochridge had been tasked by CEO Stockton Rush in 2018 with preparing a quality inspection report on the Titan.

US court documents reveal that Mr. Lochridge had serious concerns regarding the design of the Titan, particularly its construction from carbon fiber, warning that the material would degrade with each dive.

On Tuesday, he told the investigators that the "whole idea" behind OceanGate was "to make money."

"There was very little in the way of science," he added.

Mr. Lochridge also criticized the company and its CEO for "arrogance," accusing them of refusing to collaborate with experts at the University of Washington to develop the Titan submersible, opting instead to handle all engineering internally.

"They think they could do this on their own without proper engineering support," he testified.

He recounted that his relationship with OceanGate began deteriorating in 2016 after he raised safety concerns, suggesting that he was likely labeled "the troublemaker" for speaking out.

Mr. Lochridge 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 testify before the Coast Guard's Marine Board of Investigations (MBI).