According to The New Yorker, Rush hired students from Washington State University (WSU) to work on the critical systems of the Titan, despite allegedly ignoring safety warnings while charging wealthy tourists $250,000 for dives to the Titanic shipwreck.
A former intern, who spoke to the college paper in February 2018, claimed that the electrical system was their design and implementation.
They expressed excitement about the opportunity to make history with the submersible, stating, "It is an awesome feeling!"
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The New Yorker also reported that OceanGate's former director of marine operations and chief pilot had described the Titan as a "lemon" and not safe to dive in 2018.
July 04, 2023
One of the interns, Mark Walsh, had been the treasurer of WSU's Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers club when he was approached by OceanGate's director of engineering, Tony Nissen.
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Walsh and his fellow students volunteered to offer solutions to the company's challenges. Walsh was subsequently hired as the company's electrical-engineering lead.
Walsh stated that he was in charge of all electrical systems and led a team of five, including another WSU intern. He also mentioned that OceanGate had a close relationship with WSU Everett and planned to hire more interns from the university.
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However, WSU denied having an alliance with OceanGate and stated that they were not aware of the projects or roles of their alumni at the company.
Everett Community College's Ocean Research College Academy also used to provide interns to OceanGate but stopped offering internships in 2019.
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The New Yorker also reported that Boeing and the University of Washington denied any involvement with OceanGate, despite Rush mentioning them in a viral interview with CBS News.
The article also mentioned David Lochridge, who was fired as OceanGate's former head of marine operations after raising concerns about the company's testing methods.
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Lochridge received an email from deep-sea exploration specialist Rob McCallum, who wanted to know the extent of the issues at OceanGate. Lochridge expressed his concerns about the safety of the Titan and his fear of retaliation from Rush.
Lochridge found several critical aspects of the Titan to be defective or unproven in 2018 and wrote a detailed report outlining his concerns.
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He specifically mentioned the carbon-fiber hull, which experts now believe could have led to the submersible's implosion.
Despite Lochridge's report, OceanGate leadership insisted that no hull testing was necessary. Instead, they planned to use an acoustic monitoring system to detect fraying fibers and alert the pilot to the possibility of catastrophic failure.
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Lochridge's lawyer argued that this type of analysis would only detect failures milliseconds before an implosion and would not identify existing flaws.
The impasse between Lochridge and OceanGate led to his termination.
On June 18, Stockton Rush, Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood, and Sulaiman Dawood tragically lost their lives in the Titan submersible disaster.
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The New Yorker's report sheds light on the hiring of college interns to design critical systems for the Titan submersible, despite safety concerns and the alleged disregard for warnings.
The involvement of interns from Washington State University and Everett Community College raises questions about the level of expertise and experience in the development of the submersible.
The denial of involvement by Boeing and the University of Washington further adds to the controversy surrounding OceanGate's claims of outside expertise.
The concerns raised by David Lochridge and his subsequent termination highlight the potential risks associated with the Titan's design and testing methods. The tragic outcome of the June 18 disaster underscores the importance of prioritizing safety in all aspects of submersible exploration.
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