Stockton Rush, co-founder and CEO of OceanGate, the company that built the sunken Titan submersible, knew he would ultimately lose his life but continued with the business because he knew he would not be held responsible, friends told authorities this week.
Carl Stanley of the Honduras-based Roatan Institute for Deep Sea Exploration testified Tuesday before a U.S. Coast Guard committee investigating the June 2023 boat explosion.
The accident occurred as the ship was en route to the site of the Titanic's sinking. Five people died, including Rush.
Titan imploded less than two hours after beginning its descent toward the wreck site on June 18, 2023.
Eerie video shows Titan submersible's tail cone on the ocean floor
A full view of the Titan submersible in the Bahamas in May 2018. Titan imploded during an inspection mission for the Titanic on Monday, June 19, 2023. (Becky Kagan Schott)
“He knew this was going to happen eventually and he was never going to be held accountable,” Stanley, Rush's longtime friend, testified Tuesday at a Coast Guard investigation into the disaster.
“But he was going to be the most famous of all his famous relatives,” Stanley said of Rush, a descendant of two of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Stanley, a submersible expert who has known Rush for 10 years, said he heard cracking sounds and other problems, including drop weights, during an underwater test dive with a Titan prototype in the Bahamas in April 2019.
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Carl Stanley, a longtime friend of Rush's, testified at the hearing. (U.S. Coast Guard)
Stanley said he emailed Rush with his concerns but was ignored.
“I also felt that this email exchange made our relationship even more strained than it already was,” he said. “I felt like I did everything I could to make sure he didn't tell me to shut up and never speak to him again.”
He added that Rush may have overlooked important issues with the submarine because he wanted to “make his mark on history.”
“The definition of an accident is something that happens unexpectedly and completely by chance,” he said at the end of the investigation on Tuesday. “There was nothing unexpected about this incident. Anyone with even the slightest bit of information would have expected something like this to happen.”
Coast Guard members of the Titan Marine Commission's Investigative Committee for Formal Hearings were sworn in, Monday, September 16, 2024, in the Charleston County Council Chambers in North Charleston, South Carolina. (AP Photo/Mick Smith)
“And if it wasn't an accident, I think it has to be criminal to some degree. And if it is criminal, I think to really understand it, you need to understand the motive of the perpetrator. The reason this whole operation started is because Stockton had a desire to leave his mark on history,” Stanley said.
Stanley also said he viewed OceanGate's characterization of paying passengers as “mission specialists” as an attempt to avoid responsibility.
“This is clearly a ploy to circumvent U.S. regulations regarding passengers,” he said.
Moreover, the company's “entire business plan just didn't make sense,” Stanley said, adding that he felt the collapse ultimately stemmed from Rush's desire to make history.
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The Coast Guard Board of Marine Investigations (MBI) has released remotely operated vehicle footage of the Titan submersible's stern dome, stern ring, hull remains, and carbon fiber debris on the ocean floor in advance of technical testimony at the upcoming Titan MBI hearing in North Charleston, South Carolina. (U.S. Coast Guard video courtesy of Pelagic Research Services)
Ocean Gate managing director Amber Bay said the company “will not undertake dangerous dives simply to meet a need.”
But she agreed that the company wants to deliver results for people who are paid $250,000 and encouraged to join as “mission specialists.”
“There was certainly a sense of urgency to do what we proposed, and a commitment and perseverance toward that goal,” she told the Coast Guard committee.
The Coast Guard Marine Bureau of Investigation (MBI) released remotely operated vehicle footage of the Titan submersible's rear dome, rear ring, and hull remains. (U.S. Coast Guard video courtesy of Pelagic Research Services)
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Last week, the Coast Guard released video footage of the Titan's wreckage on the ocean floor. Footage taken by a remotely operated vehicle shows the tail dome, tail ring, hull remains and carbon fiber debris of the submersible lying on the ocean floor off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
