{"id":272004,"date":"2023-06-27T19:21:49","date_gmt":"2023-06-27T23:21:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=272004"},"modified":"2023-06-27T19:21:49","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T23:21:49","slug":"titan-the-trail-of-the-tragedy-in-5-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/world\/titan-the-trail-of-the-tragedy-in-5-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Titan, the trail of the tragedy in 5 questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

A week after the disappearance of the <\/span>Titan<\/span><\/i> submersible, the headlines do not stop. During the 96 hours of oxygen available to the five crew members, the hope that they would continue to be alive prompted an intensive rescue operation led from the United States and that deployed means from several countries and state-of-the-art resources.<\/span><\/p>\n

On June 22, after finding confirmed debris, the U.S. Coast Guard <\/span>announced<\/span><\/a> that the capsule had imploded; probably on Sunday the 18th. It had lost all communication at a depth of about 3,500 meters, 1 hour and 45 minutes after embarking on a trip to the most famous wreck in history: that of the <\/span>Titanic<\/span><\/i>, an experience that has been offered since 2021 in exchange for a quarter of a million dollars per person.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now there are new testimonies and statements about the <\/span>safety failures<\/span><\/a> of the submersible and the scant regulation of the sector, as well as the risks of extreme tourism; meanwhile, the threat <\/span>of lawsuits<\/span><\/a> looms over OceanGate, the company that created <\/span>Titan<\/span><\/i> and whose CEO, Stockton Rush, was aboard the fateful expedition.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Who was on the <\/b>Titan<\/i><\/b> and why were they there?<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \"\"<\/a>
    The image included in a promotional content of OceanGate shows the distribution of passengers inside the small ship. Credit: OceanGate.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    The five crew members traveling in the small submersible with a carpeted floor instead of seats and barely enough space for more than one crew member at a time to stretch out their legs were: Stockton Rush, founder and CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, the ship\u2019s operator; Hamish Harding, British businessman and explorer; Shahzada Dawood, a British businessman of Pakistani origin and his 19-year-old son, Suleman; and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French maritime expert who had visited the wreck of the <\/span>Titanic<\/span><\/i> more than thirty-five times. OceanGate announced in a <\/span>statement<\/span><\/a> that \u201cwe have sadly lost them all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>
    From left to right, Shahzada Dawood, Suleman Dawood; Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Stockton Rush, and Hamish Harding. Photo: AP.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Stockton Rush<\/b><\/p>\n

    (San Francisco, 1962). He was known as an innovator and explorer. In recent days, interviews have circulated in which he shows off his temerity; however, those close to him <\/span>affirm<\/span><\/a> that safety was a priority for him and that he was very methodical in managing risks.<\/span><\/p>\n

    According to the website for OceanGate, a company he founded in 2009, Rush began his career in 1981 as the world\u2019s youngest jet transport pilot, aged 19. In 1984 he began working as a flight test engineer on F-15 fighter jets for McDonnell Douglas. The last two decades he decided to focus on the other extreme: the depths, much less explored and controllable than the heights and even space.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cI would like to be remembered as an innovator. I think it was General [Douglas] MacArthur who said, \u2018You will be remembered by the rules you break,\u2019\u201d Rush said. \u201cAnd I have broken some to do this. I think I have broken them with logic and followed by good engineering behind.\u2026 Carbon fiber and titanium\u2026there is a rule that says that you should not do it,\u201d he added regarding the materials used to build the submersible, which he conceived as \u201can elevator\u201d that would make it possible to see and study the <\/span>Titanic<\/span><\/i> before it was devoured by bacteria.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cThe ocean is taking it from us, and we need to document it before it all disappears,\u201d Rush told the AP in 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

    His wife, Wendy Weil Rush, is the <\/span>descendant<\/span><\/a> of two victims of the legendary shipwreck.<\/span><\/p>\n