Lawsuit Makes A Disturbing New Claim About The Titan Sub Disaster

It's been over a year since OceanGate Expeditions' Titan submersible departed the Canadian vessel Polar Prince and vanished beneath the waves off the coast of Newfoundland. Hopes for a recovery of the sub and a rescue of the five lives inside quickly dissipated as debris from the submersible was found deep in the ocean. Ultimately, it was determined that the Titan submersible imploded due to a variety of factors including a composite hull built from carbon fiber and titanium, which bend differently under immense oceanic pressures. OceanGate founder Stockton Rush, deep-sea explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, businessman and pilot Hamish Harding, businessman Shahzada Dawood, and his son Suleman died instantly — but not before the victims knew their fates..

At least, that's what a new lawsuit from Paul-Henri Nargeolet's family claims. As CBS News reports, Nargeolet's family has filed a $50 million lawsuit against OceanGate, stating that the crew experienced "terror and mental anguish" because they "would have realized exactly what was happening." Previously, as the New York Post explains, individuals like engineer José Luis Martín estimated that the crew knew about their fate for anywhere between 48 and 71 seconds but were helpless to stop it as the sub's electricity and emergency measures failed and the sub tilted vertically, sending all of its passengers tumbling on top of each other.

Besides obvious concerns of justice and the resolution of grief, Nargeolet attorney Tony Buzbee said on AP News that the suit desired to, "get answers for the family as to exactly how this happened."     

If anyone knew about visiting the Titanic it was Paul-Henri Nargeolet. The reader might recall that the OceanGate Titan submersible was on its way to visit the legendary Titanic cruise ship which sunk in 1912 and remains at the bottom of the ocean at a depth of 12,600 feet. Only about 250 people have ever visited the wreckage of the Titanic, including Nargeolet. As AP News cites of the Nargeolet family lawsuit, Nargeolet visited the Titanic more than anyone else alive — including "Titanic" director James Cameron — and was dubbed "Mr. Titanic" for his 37 total dives to the ship. In other words, if anyone knew about general procedures and safety protocols when visiting the Titanic, it was Nargeolet. He was even Director for Underwater Research at RMS Titanic, Inc., which owns the salvage rights to the Titanic wreckage.

As CBS News states, Nargeolet simply, "would not have participated in the voyage if he had been aware of the Titan's issues." Per AP News, the Buzbee Law Firm of Houston, Texas, has gone so far as to say that OceanGate not only demonstrated complete and utter negligence regarding the design, safety, and operation of the Titan but "purposefully concealed its shortcomings to Nargeolet." At this point, it bears noting that OceanGate charged $250,000 per person for a visit to the Titanic in the hopes of capitalizing on a burgeoning Titanic-visiting tourist industry. 

At present, the OceanGate website is completely shut down and simply reads, "OceanGate has suspended all exploration and commercial operations." Things are not looking good for OceanGate, as the lawsuit claims that the company employed a "devil-may-care approach to safety" regarding the design of the Titan, which was even piloted using a video game-like controller, as CBS News reports. Previously and unrelatedly to the lawsuit, a CBS News correspondent had described the Titan's design as demonstrating, "MacGyver jerry-riggedness." The New York Times also reported that various experts warned OceanGate ahead of time about the Titan vessel, stating that the Titan was only certified for a depth of one-third that of the Titanic.

On top of all this, the lawsuit calls out OceanGate founder Stockton Rush, who also died when the Titan imploded. As CBS News explains, the lawsuit essentially claims that the Titan was an ego project meant to demonstrate how Rush was an "industry disrupter" along the lines of Elon Musk or Steve Jobs — hence the Titan's weird and ultimately deadly design. Per AP News, the Rush-led OceanGate demonstrated "persistent carelessness, recklessness, and negligence" that led to the "wrongful deaths" of the five passengers onboard the vessel, including Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

Besides the Nargeolet lawsuit, AP News reports that the Coast Guard will be holding a public hearing about the Titan disaster in September this year. Amongst other things, the official investigation will target, "regulatory compliance, crewmember duties and qualifications, mechanical and structural systems, emergency response, and the submersible industry."