The submersible Titan malfunctioned days before the fatal dive, the former scientific director says

CNN
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A former OceanGate chief scientific officer said the submersible Titan suffered a malfunction six days before the June 2023 implosion that killed all five people on board.

Steven Ross, a marine scientist and crew member of Dive 87 on Titan's fourth mission in 2023, testified Thursday at a hearing into the ship's tragic implosion that a platform malfunction during that dive resulted in all five people on board being thrown against the stern of the submersible for at least an hour.

The dive was aborted because the platform malfunctioned upon resurfacing. The reason for this was a problem with the variable ballast tank that controlled the submersible's buoyancy. This caused the platform to rotate 45 degrees with the rear bow pointing upwards.

The dive, led by Stockton Rush, founder and CEO of ship operator OceanGate, took place on June 12, about 460 miles from the Titanic accident site.

“The pilot crashed into the rear bulkhead, the rest of the passengers were stumbling around, I ended up standing on the rear bulkhead, one passenger was hanging upside down, the other two managed to get trapped in the bow cap,” Ross said, adding that no one was injured.

Rush told passengers there was a problem with the variable ballast tank valve, Ross said. Because the platform's malfunction was taking a long time to fix, the dive was aborted and they returned to the surface to fix the problem.

“It was uncomfortable and unpleasant and it took considerable time to fix the problem,” Ross said, adding that he did not know whether the crew conducted an inspection of the hull after the dive.

He said he was aware that the submersible Titan had not been inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Ross also mentioned two incidents during the 2022 Titanic Expedition dives, including a loud bang heard upon surfacing on dive 80.

“There was a discussion about the bang with the crew, mission specialists and scientists. The theory of the sound was that there was probably a shift of the pressure hull in its metal mount, and when it jumped back into position, that may have caused the loud noise,” Ross said.

According to Ross, during dive 81 there was an engine malfunction. The pilot, Scott Griffith, discovered that the controls for one of the engines had been swapped on the bottom. Griffith had to operate the engines using the swapped controls.

Before Titan's fourth mission as part of the Titanic 2023 Expedition, Ross said he was told the submersible “hit an obstruction while towing overnight” and that it was believed the cause was abandoned fishing nets. “However, that was inconclusive,” and he was not made aware of any damage caused by the obstruction.

During the dive to Titanic on June 18, 2023, the submersible lost contact with its mother ship. When it did not resurface, an international search and rescue mission was launched in the remote waters several hundred miles southeast of Newfoundland, Canada.

Ultimately, authorities concluded that the ship had suffered a “catastrophic implosion” – a sudden inward collapse caused by enormous pressure. Debris from the submersible was found on the seabed several hundred yards from the Titanic, and authorities recovered “suspected human remains” believed to belong to the victims.

Rush, the founder of OceanGate, businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood, businessman Hamish Harding and French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet were all killed.

According to Lochridge's testimony this week, Rush was involved in a submarine accident in 2016 when he panicked while piloting the Cyclops 1 submarine during a dive to the wreck of the Andrea Doria.

Lochridge was originally supposed to pilot the submersible, he said. When the CEO wanted to pilot the boat, Lochridge objected before finally convincing Rush to let him accompany him on the dive.

Rush made several mistakes during the dive, Lochridge said. Among other things, he ignored the current and kept his distance from the wreck.

Lochridge said he tried to help and guide Rush, but Rush resisted and drove the submersible at “full speed” into the wreck of the Andrea Doria, causing Lochridge to become agitated and use foul language, he said.

“At that point his behavior was unprofessional, he started to panic and the first thing he asked himself was, 'Do we have enough life support on board?'” Lochridge said, adding that he had to calm him down. “We're stuck, we're stuck, we're stuck,” he quoted Rush as saying.

Lochridge said he told Rush to give him the controller, but Rush refused, and crew member Renata Rojas was “yelling at Stockton to give him the damn controller, she had tears in her eyes.”

However, on Thursday, Rojas, an OceanGate mission specialist and volunteer on the 2023 Titan Expedition, described her account of the Andrea Doria dive, which contradicted Lochridge's.

“I saw David Lochridge's account of the events, he must have done a different dive,” she said during her testimony. “Nobody panicked, nobody cried and there was definitely no swearing and screaming.”

She said she did not know why Lochridge took the controls from Rush and said Rush placed the controls at Lochridge's feet.

“I can tell you that I did not use any foul language and that I was not the one who asked Stockton to give Lochridge the controller,” she said.

When asked if the exchange between Rush and Lochridge was tense, Rojas said yes, but “in my opinion they both conducted themselves professionally.”

Rojas tearfully testified during Thursday's hearing, reiterating her confidence in the transparency she said she felt as a mission specialist and volunteer.

Rojas said that after each day of diving, there are debriefings to discuss what went wrong and what went well.

“I found them to be very transparent in all respects. Everyone could ask all kinds of questions,” said Rojas.

Other than a problem with the dinghy, Rojas said she noticed no problems the day the ship imploded and described all the passengers as excited and looking forward to the trip.

“They were just very happy to go there. That's my memory,” Rojas said, crying. “Nobody was really nervous. They were excited about what they were going to see.”

“Nothing will bring our friends back,” she continued.