Billionaire Is on the Missing Titanic Tourist Sub...

After the announcement that the crew went missing, Pogue took to Twitter to further highlight some of the disconcerting facets of the submersible and OceanGate’s overall operation, including the fact that the craft—at least the one he went on—doesn’t have any kind of emergency location transmitter (ELT). These devices are typically carried aboard air and watercraft in case of emergencies, and emit distinct signals that allow rescuers to find lost and injured victims.

This is such a basic and essential item for nearly any sea voyage that it calls into question the decision-making ability of Rush and the company at large. Rush would later dismissively tell CBS that there was a limit to the amount of safety measures these vessels should have.

“You know, there’s a limit,” he told the broadcaster. “At some point, safety is just pure waste. I mean if you don’t just want to be safe, don’t get out of bed. Don’t get in your car. Don’t do anything. At some point, you’re going to take some risk and it really is a risk-reward question. I think I can do this just as safely by breaking the rules.”

That’s not the only damning revelation about the sub’s onboard technologies to come to light recently. In 2018, executives at other submersible vehicle companies signed a letter to Rush warning “the current ‘experimental’ approach” that the company was using to build its vessels like the Titan could result in “minor to catastrophic” issues, according to The New York Times. ...