Following comments from James Cameron on the loss of OceanGate’s Titan submersible, the co-founder of OceanGate has disputed Cameron’s claims. The founder says Cameron doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
Speaking to the Times Radio Friday in the United Kingdom (via TMZ), OceanGate co-founder Guillermo Söhnlein said it would be “impossible” for anyone on the outside — including Cameron — to speculate on what happened to the ship.
“It’s impossible for anyone to really speculate from the outside…I know from firsthand experience that we were extremely committed to safety and risk mitigation was a key part of the company culture,” said Söhnlein.
This comes after Cameron noted similarities between the Titan submersible and the actual Titanic. He seemed to point blame to Stockton Rush, the head of OceanGate.
“I’m struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself,” Cameron said, “Where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field.”
What happened to the Titan submersible?
The Titan submersible — owned by Washington-based OceanGate — originally set out on a trip to explore the wreckage of the Titanic on Sunday, shortly after it entered the water at around 8 a.m. EST.
Since then, the submersible has been missing. Earlier on Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard revealed debris consistent with the submersible was found near the wreck of the Titanic. All five passengers are presumed dead due to the vessel’s implosion.
The people on board the Titan included pilot Stockton Rush, the head of Oceangate; Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French underwater wreck expert; British entrepreneur Hamish Harding; and father-son Pakistani nationals Shahzada and Suleman Dawood.