The Daily Populous Wednesday May 29th, 2024 morning edition
Authored by businessinsider.com and submitted by galaxystars1

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An Ohio real-estate investor is planning to take a two-person submersible down to Titanic-level depths to prove that the journey can be carried out safely following the Titan sub's implosion last year.

The investor, Larry Connor, told The Wall Street Journal: "I want to show people worldwide that while the ocean is extremely powerful, it can be wonderful and enjoyable and really kind of life-changing if you go about it the right way."

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He's working with Patrick Lahey, a cofounder and the CEO of the submersible manufacturer Triton Submarines.

They aim to show that such an expedition can be carried out repeatedly and safely despite the implosion of the OceanGate sub in June, which killed all five people on board, including the company's CEO, Stockton Rush.

Lahey said that Connor called him a few days after the implosion and said: "'You know, what we need to do is build a sub that can dive to [Titanic-level depths] repeatedly and safely and demonstrate to the world that you guys can do that, and that Titan was a contraption.'"

Connor, who has been to the Mariana Trench, the deepest oceanic trench on Earth, said they planned to do the journey in a two-person vessel called the Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer, named "4000" for the depth in meters it can reach. He did not say when the trip would take place.

Lahey was one of the many industry figures who criticized OceanGate before and after the disaster, accusing it of questionable safety standards.

After the implosion, he described Rush's approach to persuading people to get on board as "quite predatory."

Others in the industry and the company also voiced their concerns.

An OceanGate tourist submersible descending from the surface. Ocean Gate / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

A former chief submersible pilot for the company said years before the fatal trip that he was worried Rush would get himself and others killed in a "quest to boost his ego."

The filmmaker and Titanic explorer James Cameron also weighed in, saying he and some engineers had told OceanGate officials that using the Titan could lead to "catastrophic failure."

The waiver that Titan passengers were required to sign mentioned multiple ways that passengers could die and described the vessel as "experimental" three times.

Previous passengers had also described errors, failed trips, and feeling unsafe.

CBS News' David Pogue said his trip on the submersible was canceled after the Titan reached 37 feet because of an equipment malfunction, while one diver who made it to the wreckage said there were multiple aborted attempts, calling it a "suicide mission."

Nevertheless, Rush and his company repeatedly defended the submersible and its design.

The subsequent disaster raised concerns, with some experts calling on the industry to reassess taking people to such a remote location.

But Lahey said he believed that OceanGate's problems weren't reflective of the wider industry, adding that classed submersibles were considered very safe because of the extensive testing they undergo.

Rob McCallum — a former OceanGate consultant who had warned Rush about the safety of the Titan — agreed with that assessment.

"In that sense, OceanGate didn't make the industry look bad," McCallum told the Journal. "It made us look good."

easy_Money on May 28th, 2024 at 04:11 UTC »

So clearly nobody even bothered to open to article. The sub is being made by Triton, which is a real and reputable submersible company. Completely different situation.

Kitten_Stomper on May 28th, 2024 at 04:05 UTC »

I'd bet the Triton subs are not made out of carbon fiber and shit from Home Depot.

Quirky-Swimmer3778 on May 28th, 2024 at 02:53 UTC »

A Triton built submarine is going to make ocean gate's look like it belongs in an elementary school science fair.

They make proven quality subs that have already gone down into the Mariana's.

This is a little different.