I went on Titanic sub ‘shakedown dive’ – I vowed never to get on craft again as it had broken computer & faulty controls
AN EXPLORER who went on one of Titan's maiden expeditions vowed never to get back on the craft as he felt uncomfortable with its apparent lack of safety.
Josh Gates ventured onto OceanGate's sub for a "shakedown dive" in 2021 but swiftly decided to "back off" from becoming part of project the team.
The same vessel, Titan, has been missing since Sunday with just 96 hours of oxygen and five crew members on board.
A multinational search team has been scanning the sea close to the wreck of the Titanic some 12,500ft underwater in a frantic bid to recover the stricken sub.
Chilling footage reveals the claustrophobic conditions inside the sub built from "improvised" stock including camping lights.
Concerns have been raised over the "experimental" nature of the vessel and the inability for the passengers inside to escape since they are bolted within.
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Made by OceanGate Expeditions, the cramped 22ft (6.7m) carbon fibre submersible has only one porthole at the front and does not have a GPS system.
The deep-sea sub is instead guided by text messages exchanged using an acoustic system with a team waiting helplessly above water.
Mr Gates told how there were a series of errors with the system during his trip just two years ago.
He told : "Some of them [the systems] didn't perform well at all.
"We had issues with thrusters, we had issues with computer control aboard.
"There was so little data available about managing that risk and what it looked like if this sub went up and down as many times as it was going to."
He said following the test dive, he "ultimately decided to back off" from the dive project team as he "couldn't get comfortable with the design of Titan".
Mr Gates added: "An innovative novel design comes with a lot of mysteries as to how it's going to perform over time."
And the inside lighting was bought from a camping shop.
He also explained that there is "no way" to communicate with the mini-van size vessel, nor can anyone inside the sub escape without external help.
Passengers are sealed within the main cabin by hefty bolts secured from the outside and have to be removed using external crew.
"There's no backup, there's no escape pod," he said. "It's get to the surface or die."
He also revealed the sub vanished for hours on another expedition last year.
Bosses of the sub were even previously embroiled in a lawsuit over the vessel’s potentially dangerous flaws after a safety manager spoke out about his concerns.
Ex-employee David Lochridge claims he was fired after he raised his concerns and demanded more rigorous safety checks.
Court documents, seen by The Sun, said he complained that the vessel was not capable of descending to the extreme depths necessary to view the Titanic wreckage.
The legal files show Oceangate sued Lochridge, who was “responsible for the safety of all crew and clients”, for disclosing confidential information about the Titan.
However, Lochridge then filed a counterclaim - alleging that he had been wrongfully fired from his role over being a whistleblower about the quality and safety of the vessel.
The sub operators in the past have explained that the Titan "had not been approved by any regulatory body".
Tourists fork out almost £200,000 to take part in the expedition - but must sign a contract before boarding.
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Passengers are made to acknowledge that the submarine is “an experimental vessel”.
The chilling contract also states that their trip “could result in physical injury, disability, emotional trauma or death”.
Titanic OceanGate Submarine News
Everything you need to know about the missing submarine, which vanished near the Titanic on June 18, 2023.
- What happened to the OceanGate Submarine?
- When did it go missing?
- Who is Hamish Harding?
- How deep is the Titanic in the ocean?
- Can the passengers escape the submarine alive?
- Do submarines like this disappear often and has this happened before?
- Who is taking part in the rescue effort?
- Who is Paul-Henry Nargeolet and what is he known for?
- Who else is missing on the stricken vessel?
- When did the Titanic sink and have people explored the wreckage before?