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Science Editor
Alison Francis
Senior Science Journalist
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When the Titan submersible went missing during a dive to the wreck of the Titanic in 2023, David Lochridge hoped the five people on board – including his former boss – could be rescued.
“I always hoped that what happened wouldn’t happen. But I just knew if they kept carrying on the way they were going and with that deficient equipment, then there would be an incident,” he told the BBC.
The whistleblower had been sacked by the firm behind the sub, Oceangate, after warning about safety issues in 2018.
In June 2023 the sub imploded killing all five people on board – including Oceangate CEO Stockton Rush.
A report from the US Coast Guard (USCG) published on Tuesday found that Oceangate’s failures over safety, testing and maintenance were the main cause of the disaster.
“There is so much that could have been done differently. From the initial design, to the build, to the operations – people were sold a lie,” Lochridge told the BBC.
But he firmly believes the US authorities could – and should – have done more to stop Oceangate.
Lochridge had joined Oceangate seven years earlier as the company’s Director of Marine Operations. He moved his family from Scotland to the US, and was full of excitement about the company’s ambitions.
Oceangate was building a new submersible to take paying passengers down to the most famous wreck in the world – the Titanic.
And he was going to be involved
