Mission specialist for Titan sub owner to testify before Coast Guard
A mission specialist from the company that owned the Titan submarine that imploded in 2023 is expected to testify before the U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday.
Renata Rojas is the latest person to testify with ties to Titan owner OceanGate after an investigative panel heard two days of testimony that raised questions about the company’s activities before the doomed mission. OceanGate co-founder Stockton Rush was one of five people who died when the submarine imploded on its way to the Titanic shipwreck site in June 2023.
Earlier this month, the Coast Guard opened a public hearing that is part of a high-level investigation into the cause of the implosion. The public hearing began on September 16, and some of the testimony focused on the troubled nature of the company.
During the hearingDavid Lochridge, OceanGate’s former chief operating officer, said he was in frequent conflict with Rush and felt the company was only interested in making a profit.
“The whole idea of the company was to make money,” Lochridge testified. “There was very little science.”
Former OceanGate science director Steven Ross is also expected to testify on Thursday. The hearing is expected to last through Friday, with more witnesses expected to testify.
Lochridge and other witnesses painted a picture of a company run by people who were impatient to unconventionally designed vessel in the water. The fatal accident sparked a global debate about the future of private submarine exploration.
Coast Guard officials noted early in the hearing that the submarine had not been independently reviewed, as is customary. That and Titan’s unusual design drew scrutiny from the underwater exploration community.
OceanGate, based in Washington state, has suspended operations following the implosion. The company currently has no full-time employees, but is represented by a lawyer during the hearing.
During the submarine’s final dive on June 18, 2023, the crew lost contact after exchanging texts about Titan’s depth and weight during the descent. The support ship Polar Prince then repeatedly sent messages asking if Titan could still see the ship on its onboard display.
One of the last messages from Titan’s crew to Polar Prince before the submarine imploded was “all good here,” according to a visual reconstruction presented earlier in the hearing.
When the submarine was reported missing, rescuers rushed ships, planes and other equipment to an area about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland. The wreckage of the Titan was then found four days later on the ocean floor about 330 yards (300 meters) from the Titanic’s bow, Coast Guard officials said. No one on board survived.
OceanGate said it has been fully cooperating with the Coast Guard and NTSB investigations since they began. The Titan has been making voyages to the Titanic wreck site since 2021.