OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush Offered Discounted Titanic Sub Tickets, Said It Was ‘Safer Than Crossing The Street’

Stockton Rush, who was the OceanGate CEO and Titan submersible pilot, offered discounted tickets to his billionaire friend, Jay Bloom, for seats on the Titan submersible.

Bloom, who is a Las Vegas investor and real estate developer, took to Facebook to share screenshots of texts that he and the late CEO exchanged months before the fatal trip to Titanic. 

In February, Rush asked Bloom if there was any “progress on joining” their Titanic dive this year, to which Bloom replied that his son’s friend “researched what could go wrong and put a little scare in him.” 

He then said that he was trying to “talk him down” and added that his son, Sean, was “excited to go, but concerned about the danger.” 

The OceanGate CEO then offered to have a video call with Sean and said he was “curious” about what the “uninformed” had to say, wondering if the researched danger was imaginary or otherwise. 

Calling it “really stupid stuff,” Bloom said the research led Sean and his friend to fear the marine life living in the depths the submersible was going to, stating that one of the concerns was that a “sperm whale attacks the sub or a giant squid grabs it and compromises the hull.” 

Rush agreed that it was “very stupid” and assured Bloom that the sub was “way safer than flying a helicopter or even scuba diving,” before throwing statistics in and saying no injuries have happened in 35 years in non-military subs. He then conducted his own research and sent a link to a site answering how deep whales can dive. 

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More screenshots show a conversation with Rush following up on Bloom in March and asked if he wanted to reserve spots for a planned May dive, to which the business investor declined because of his uncertain schedule. There were two planned dives in May, one dated May 11 to May 19, and the second from May 20 to May 28. Both dives were eventually canceled due to disagreeable weather, delaying the first dive to June 18. 

In April, Rush offered Bloom discounted tickets at $150,000. The original ticket prices were $250,000. 

The real estate developer explained in his caption that the last time he saw Rush in person was on March 1, when they went to a Titanic exhibition at the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. 

“[Rush] was absolutely convinced that it was safer than crossing the street,” Bloom wrote. 

He also mentioned that he was given a book of photos signed by Rush and Paul Henri Nargeolet, who was one of the passengers on the Titan. Because Bloom had scheduling conflicts, he informed Rush that he and his son wouldn’t be able to go until next year. The two tickets saved for Bloom and his son were eventually sold to Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman. 

“Tomorrow is never promised,” he concluded. “Make the most of today.” 

All five passengers on the Titan were announced dead after an ROV found debris from the submersible following a four-day search and rescue mission. The sub is believed to have imploded when they lost communication.