Stockton Rush, the creator of the ‘Titan’ submersible, allegedly sent the craft on a fatal dive, intending to go down in history alongside the ‘Titanic.’ This claim was made by submersible expert Karl Stanley in the book Submersed: Wonder, Obsession and Murder in the World of Amateur Submarines by Matthew Gavin Frank, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Stanley asserts that Rush was prepared to sacrifice himself and four passengers for the sake of fame. According to him, the entrepreneur was well aware of the dangers involved in such expeditions but was driven by a desire to prove he could successfully organize a dive to the liner’s wreckage. In 2019, Stanley took part in a test dive of the ‘Titan’ near the Bahamas. During the descent, he heard loud noises, which he interpreted as signs that the hull was being compromised by pressure. He warned Rush in writing about the danger and urged him to halt the expeditions, but Rush dismissed his concerns regarding the craft’s design.
In June 2023, the ‘Titan’ imploded during a dive to the ‘Titanic,’ resulting in the deaths of all five people on board. Stanley also pointed to the name of the submersible: in Morgan Robertson’s 1898 novella Futility, a fictional ocean liner named the ‘Titan’ sinks in the North Atlantic after colliding with an iceberg. The expert believes that Rush sought to link his own name to the history of the famous shipwreck.
As a reminder, the vessel—operated by the company OceanGate—vanished during a dive to the wreckage, a tragedy that claimed the lives of five individuals. Among them were Hamish Harding, Stockton Rush, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, as well as businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son. During the search, specialists detected underwater acoustic signals. It was initially assumed that these might have been attempts by the passengers to signal for help. However, the experts’ final conclusions indicate that the crew perished instantly due to the destruction of the hull.
About the Author
