Billionaire Is on the Missing Titanic Tourist Sub...

The filing said that Lochridge had been denied access to information about the vessel’s viewport — the section where passengers could look out from the submersible — which revealed that it “was only built to certified pressure of 1,300 meters, although OceanGate intended to take passengers down to depths of 4,000 meters.”

“Lochridge learned that the viewport manufacturer would only certify to a depth of 1,300 meters due to the experimental design of the viewport supplied by OceanGate, which was out of the Pressure Vessels for Human Occupancy (‘PVHO’) standards,” the filing said.

“OceanGate refused to pay for the manufacturer to build a viewport that would meet the required depth of 4,000 meters,” the filing said. “The paying passengers would not be aware, and would not be informed, of this experimental design, the lack of non-destructive testing of the hull, or that hazardous flammable materials were being used within the submersible.”

OceanGate had sued Lochridge and his wife in Washington state court in June 2018, alleging breach of contract, fraud and other claims that the company said arose from him discussing OceanGate’s confidential information with at least two other people, as well as representatives of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration in purported violation of a nondisclosure agreement.  Lochridge then filed a counterclaim against OceanGate in U.S. District Court in Seattle. The case was settled in late 2018....