The
co-founder of the company that owned the experimental submersible that imploded
en route to the wreckage of the Titanic is scheduled to testify before the U.S.
Coast Guard on Monday as part of its investigation of the maritime disaster.
Businessman
Guillermo Sohnlein founded Titan owner OceanGate with Stockton Rush, who was
among the five people who died when the submersible imploded in June 2023. The
Coast Guard opened a public hearing earlier this month that is part of a high
level investigation into the cause of the implosion.
Sohnlein
left the Washington company years ago, but in the aftermath of the
submersible’s implosion, he spoke in defense of its efforts. In his testimony,
he is expected to provide perspective into the company’s inner workings.
The
public hearing began Sept. 16 and some of the testimony has focused on the
troubled nature of the company. Earlier in the hearing, former OceanGate
operations director David Lochridge said he frequently clashed with Rush and
felt the company was committed only to making money.
“The
whole idea behind the company was to make money,” Lochridge testified. “There
was very little in the way of science.”
Other
witnesses expected to testify Monday include former OceanGate engineering
director Phil Brooks and Roy Thomas of the American Bureau of Shipping. The
hearing is expected to run through Friday and include more witnesses.
Lochridge
and other witnesses have painted a picture of a troubled company that was
impatient to get its unconventionally designed craft into the water. The
accident set off a worldwide debate about the future of private undersea
exploration.
Coast
Guard officials noted at the start of the hearing that the submersible had not
been independently reviewed, as is standard practice. That and Titan’s unusual
design subjected it to scrutiny in the undersea exploration community.
OceanGate,
based in Washington state, suspended its operations after the implosion. The
company has no full-time employees currently, but has been represented by an
attorney during the hearing.
During
the submersible’s final dive on June 18, 2023, the crew lost contact after an
exchange of texts about Titan’s depth and weight as it descended. The support
ship Polar Prince then sent repeated messages asking if Titan could still see
the ship on its onboard display.
One
of the last messages from Titan’s crew to Polar Prince before the submersible
imploded stated, “all good here,” according to a visual re-creation presented
earlier in the hearing.
When
the submersible was reported overdue, rescuers rushed ships, planes and other
equipment to an area about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s,
Newfoundland. Wreckage of the Titan was subsequently found on the ocean floor
about 330 yards (300 meters) off the bow of the Titanic, Coast Guard officials
said. No one on board survived.
OceanGate
said it has been fully cooperating with the Coast Guard and NTSB investigations
since they began. Titan had been making voyages to the Titanic wreckage site
going back to 2021.