OceanGate Suspends Commercial Operations Following Titan Implosion

After its Titan submersible imploded and killed all five passengers on board, OceanGate has announced that it has suspended commercial operations.

But the company’s website still shows highlight clips of expeditions as well as tour offerings to the Titanic. No additional information was provided, and OceanGate has not responded to any media outlets for comment.

The company hosted $250,000 tourist voyages on its Titan submersible to the remains of the Titanic, which are located approximately 2.4 miles below the ocean’s surface.

On June 18, the Titan was about 1.75 hours into its journey when it lost communication capabilities with its mother ship. The submersible did not return, starting an international search that lasted for the next couple of days.

But on June 22, authorities stated that the Titan had undergone a “catastrophic implosion.” The five victims onboard were later identified as OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British businessman Hamish Harding, Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood and Dawood’s 19-year-old son, Suleman Dawood.

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Since the implosion, safety concerns about the Titan submersible have been uncovered, including a 2015 email from an independent contractor David Lochridge that warned of the Titan’s flawed design. Lochrdige wrote, “I don’t want to be seen as a tattletale, but I’m so worried he kills himself and others in the quest to boost his ego,” referring to Rush. He also said that the submersible was “an accident waiting to happen.”