The co-founder and former CEO of OceanGate testified during a hearing regarding the fatal implosion of its Titan submersible, stating that the company initially had no plans to construct its own submersibles.
Guillermo Sohnlein co-founded OceanGate in 2009 alongside Stockton Rush, who was among the five individuals who lost their lives in the tragic implosion during a deep-sea expedition to view the Titanic wreck in June 2023. Sohnlein departed from the company in 2013, well before OceanGate began its dives to the Titanic with the Titan, an experimental and unclassified vessel.
Sohnlein stated that “developing our own subs was not in the original plans” when they formed the company during their testimony on Monday during the U.S. Coast Guard’s two-week hearing on the collapse.
Their goal, he explained, was to build a fleet of deep-diving submersibles that could accommodate five individuals and descend to 6,000 meters. These submersibles would be available for rent. They wanted the subs to be able to operate off any ship, anywhere in the world, without needing a specific mothership or support vessel.
Sohnlein pointed out that the majority of commercial submersibles are now only able to function at 1,000 meters or fewer, which limits the depths to which ocean exploration may go.
“We aimed to change that,” Sohnlein stated. “Our goal was to provide humanity with greater access to the ocean, particularly the deep ocean, anything deeper than 1,000 meters.”
OceanGate shifts focus to constructing its own submersible using carbon fiber.
Sohnlein mentioned that they eventually came to the conclusion that building their own submersible was essential to achieving their business model.
“When we evaluated our business requirements—specifically the ability to transport five people to depths of 6,000 meters without a dedicated mothership and being deployable anywhere in the world—none of the existing sub builders could fulfill those criteria,” he explained.
“Additionally, when you considered the costs, it was going to be extremely prohibitive.”
He added that Rush “persuaded us that it was possible to create a sub that would satisfy all of our business needs.”
Sohnlein noted that they began looking into carbon fiber as a potential option for the pressure hull.
“That idea isn’t groundbreaking,” he remarked. “It wasn’t especially groundbreaking; it was simply something we began investigating while I was still part of the company.”
Roy Thomas, an engineer with the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), which classifies submersibles, testified during Monday’s hearing that carbon fiber pressure hulls are “not acceptable materials for submersibles” according to ABS underwater regulations.
“They have minimal resistance to impact loads, and the hull is vulnerable to deformation under external pressure,” he stated.
Rush became the CEO of OceanGate in 2013 as the company shifted its focus to developing its own submersibles.
Sohnlein mentioned that he still possesses approximately 500,000 common shares in OceanGate but has “basically accepted that I will probably never see any return from that equity stake.”
After the fatal implosion, OceanGate has suspended all exploration and commercial activities.
The co-founder of OceanGate never participated in a dive on the Titan.
Sohnlein remarked that he was offered opportunities to dive on the Titan “many times,” but he never took them.
“As a shareholder, I didn’t want to take up space in the sub. I wanted to leave that opportunity for those who truly wished to experience the dive,” he said, referring to those for whom visiting the Titanic was a “life dream.”
He also mentioned that he simply wasn’t interested in going to the Titanic.
“Neither Stockton nor I were ever driven by tourism,” stated he. “Visiting locations that other people had already visited never served as motivation for us. We both wanted to investigate, which is why we became involved in this. We intended to investigate the ocean as well as ourselves by developing the necessary tools.”
Therefore, I wasn’t really excited about visiting a shipwreck that has already been well recorded and visited by many others. Stockton was unimpressed,” he went on.
Sohnlein thought back to an exchange in which Rush expressed his desire to carry out Titan’s maiden test dive down to 4,000 meters alone. “I don’t want anybody else in the sub,” he claimed Rush remarked to him. If something goes wrong, I want it to
only affect me. I designed it. That’s what I think. I believe in it. I’m traveling alone as I don’t want to put anyone else at risk.”
Along with Rush, other victims of the Titan implosion were Paul Henri Nargeolet, a French explorer, Hamish Harding, a British businessman, Shahzada Dawood, a Pakistani industrialist, and Suleman, his 19-year-old son.
The investigation of the implosion is expected to continue until Friday.
In his closing remarks, Sohnlein admitted he wasn’t sure what transpired but hoped they could uncover “valuable lessons learned.”
“This should not have happened,” he remarked. “Such a tragedy was avoidable; five individuals should not have lost their lives.”
He also expressed a wish for others to draw inspiration from his and Rush’s mission.
“This shouldn’t signify the end of deep ocean exploration or the future of deep-diving submersibles, and I truly believe it won’t,” he remarked. “I hope that, in the near future, we will look back on this period as a pivotal moment in human history—when the global public finally took a genuine interest in our endeavors to explore, study, and safeguard the deep oceans.”