On Friday, the former business partner of Stockton Rush, the pilot of the Titanic submersible, stated that safety was their top priority when they co-founded their deep-sea exploration company. James Cameron, the director of the movie “Titanic,” accused OceanGate Expeditions of disregarding safety warnings after Rush and four others tragically perished in a catastrophic implosion during their descent to the shipwreck.
Guillermo Soehnlein, who co-founded OceanGate with Rush but left the company in 2013, confirmed that he was not involved in the design of the Titan submersible.
However, he refuted claims that his old friend was reckless and emphasized Rush’s strong commitment to safety. Soehnlein highlighted Rush’s meticulous approach to risk management and his acute awareness of the perils associated with operating in the deep ocean environment. These factors were crucial reasons why Soehnlein agreed to enter into business with Rush in 2009, he stated in an interview with Britain’s Times Radio.
Soehnlein acknowledged that Cameron himself had conducted numerous submersible descents, including over 30 trips to the Titanic site in the North Atlantic and to the deepest point in the Pacific Mariana Trench. Soehnlein pointed out the extreme dangers of operating at such depths, where implosions could occur at nearly supersonic speeds, leaving individuals without enough time to register any issues before fatality.
However, Soehnlein cautioned that it was premature to determine what exactly happened to the Titan submersible, and he expressed the complexity of formulating global regulations for ultra-deep submersibles, considering the challenging nature of navigating these waters.
Despite the tragedy, Soehnlein stressed that deep-sea exploration should continue. He compared it to space exploration, suggesting that the best way to honor the memory and legacy of the five explorers is to conduct a thorough investigation to understand the cause of the incident, learn from any mistakes made, and then move forward with the knowledge gained.
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