He warned that Titan’s structure would not hold up. They fired him. “It will take milliseconds to implode”

The search for the submarine Titan, with which . A small bathyscaphe took tourists to see the wreck of the Titanic. Currently, however, the unit has the status of missing, and an intensive search is underway off the coast of North America in the Atlantic.

He warned that Titan’s structure would not hold up. They fired him from his job

Doubts arose, however. David Lochridge, the company’s chief security officer, warned in 2018 that Titan’s design was questionable. The prototype of the unit has not been sufficiently tested. It was uncertain whether it would withstand submersion to such a great depth. Lochridge made an official report on the matter. It talks about the risk of small cracks in the Kevlar coating. During many cycles of descent and ascent, the structure is exposed to pressure changes. Lochridge claimed that in the extreme case the unit is in danger of implosion. He also warned that a possible catastrophe could happen instantly – literally within milliseconds.

However, the company’s own security director did not listen. It was because he refused to authorize the unit’s manned tests that he was fired. OceanGate asserted that the tests were “impossible to carry out”. She also explained that the condition of the bathyscaphe will be monitored on an ongoing basis, e.g. “using acoustic technique”.

Foreign media reports that OceanGate, the company that owns the submarine, also received an official letter from experts from the Marine Technology Society (MTS) a few years ago. Already at the construction stage of Titan, they warned against too hasty approach to safety. They were skeptical of plans to use the craft to explore the ocean floor. The media emphasize that the addressee of the letter – apparently ignored – was Stockton Rush, the head of OceanGate, one of the passengers of the ill-fated cruise.

Expert: It is possible that the missing submarine Titan suffered a hull leak

Unfortunately, the dark scenario may turn out to be true. A diver from OSPP Harpun, Lieutenant Commander Robert Polewski, stated that the missing submarine Titan probably had a hull leak.

If such a hull loses even a little airtightness, the pressure inside will equalize with that outside. At these pressures, at a depth of 1,500 meters, there’s not the slightest chance of getting back safely

he said.

– At such a moment, no rescue operation is carried out, but a search and extraction operation, because it is known that no one in such a unit survived. And when there is no communication, the search is very difficult – summed up the diver.

Titan’s fate remains unknown. If there was no unsealing, there was little time left to save the vessel’s occupants. Oxygen supplies will run out by Thursday at the latest.