# Titanic tourist submarine missing 6-19-2023 (Debris field found, passengers presumed dead. 06-22-23) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news\ **Created:** [June 19, 2023, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781 "2023-06-19T16:29:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/141 "2023-06-20T20:32:08Z")
Something I always wondered about tourist submarines…Do they sell fudge? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/142 "2023-06-20T20:38:44Z")
They do, but you have to buy all the fudge no matter what kind, or else if you refuse Elon’s help he will call you a fudge-picker. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/143 "2023-06-20T21:04:04Z")
I ventured over to Fox News for entirely unrelated reasons, to see how they were handling today’s political news, and came across this interesting article. Apparently Oceangate and an ex-employee were involved in a lawsuit and counter-suit around 2018 concerning the employee’s allegations about the lack of proper safety certification of the viewport on the submersible: > **[OceanGate, company behind missing Titanic tourist sub, once subject of...](https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/oceangate-company-behind-missing-titanic-tourist-sub-once-subject-lawsuit-safety-complaints)** > > OceanGate once faced a lawsuit from a former employee who alleged they were fired for raising safety concerns about the vessel that went missing while descending to the Titanic. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/144 "2023-06-20T21:07:42Z")
Moderating: > [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > If only they’d been taxed more by their governments, they might all still be safe and sound right now, enjoying lives of mere semi-luxury as ultra-millionaires, with the remainder of their money going to more worthy causes for the public good. Reminder: no political jabs in breaking news threads. Everyone, please try to stick to the topic. As usual, feel free to start a new thread and link to this one if you want to comment more broadly. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/145 "2023-06-20T21:15:33Z")
They are dead, all of them. OceanGate is based out of Everett, Washington. The company may be proficient in diving Puget Sound, but they had no business diving to the Titanic. Endless CEO ego, and a Play Station controller, that controls the entire sub? Play Station? Really? With no location device? Even the hikers on the NW peaks usually take a tracker. Stupid Darwin Award. No need for hope. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/146 "2023-06-20T21:19:14Z")
Why weren’t they livestreaming on Twitter? Elon could at least have been giving them advice. > [@wolfpup](#): > > I ventured over to Fox News for entirely unrelated reasons, to see how they were handling today’s political news, and came across this interesting article. Apparently Oceangate and an ex-employee were involved in a lawsuit and counter-suit around 2018 concerning the employee’s allegations about the lack of proper safety certification of the viewport on the submersible: [New Republic link](http://newrepublic.com/post/173802/missing-titanic-sub-faced-lawsuit-depths-safely-travel-oceangate). ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/147 "2023-06-20T21:23:48Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > My take on this is that it’s an example of irresponsible media taking a few ill-chosen words out of context. Oh, sure. That’s what they do. But 150 years from now, guess what quote he will be remembered by? It’s like that civil war general riding the front lines on his horse. The soldiers cautioned him to get down. “There’s no way anybody could hit anything at this dis” Bam! He was shot dead on the spot. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/148 "2023-06-20T21:45:46Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Apparently Oceangate and an ex-employee were involved in a lawsuit and counter-suit around 2018 concerning the employee’s allegations about the lack of proper safety certification of the viewport on the submersible: From the link: > The documents say Lochridge learned the viewport manufacturer "would only certify to a depth of 1,300 meters due to the experimental design of the viewport supplied by OceanGate, which was out of the Pressure Vessels for Human Occupancy standards. > > “OceanGate refused to pay for the manufacturer to build a viewport that would meet the required depth of 4,000 meters,” the complaint states. Pretty damning, if true. And I agree that the viewport (which I didn’t realise was that big) looks like a likely point of failure. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/149 "2023-06-20T21:49:43Z")
I see that The Onion is already on top of the story. [Coast Guard Sends Another Submersible Full Of Billionaires After The First One (theonion.com)](https://www.theonion.com/coast-guard-sends-another-submersible-full-of-billionai-1850556819) ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/150 "2023-06-20T21:55:29Z")
So do I understand correctly that only the one person knows/knew how to operate the vessel and its communications? Seems like you’d want a backup for when the first person has a stroke. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/151 "2023-06-20T21:55:50Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Something I always wondered about tourist submarines…Do they sell fudge? - Salt water taffy. Duh. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/152 "2023-06-20T22:02:28Z")
NBC is reporting that the CEO of the company is piloting the voyage. So I guess the passengers can get their money back. (That was just gallows humor. Human death is a terrible, inevitable, expected thing.) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/153 "2023-06-20T22:03:59Z")
Lochridge had also expressed concerns about potential stress failures on the hull itself. But the refusal to certify the viewport at the intended operating depths, if true, is unequivocally damning. It could be the basis of a ruinous lawsuit against whatever is left of OceanGate by the surviving relatives. But despite the reality of Lochridge’s allegations in 2018, the rest of this is all just speculation at this point. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/154 "2023-06-20T22:09:53Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > NBC is reporting that the CEO of the company is piloting the voyage. So I guess the passengers can get their money back. > (That was just gallows humor. Human death is a terrible, inevitable, expected thing.) - “Refund?!!! Over my dead body!!!” ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/155 "2023-06-20T22:19:14Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > I see that The Onion is already on top of the story. Actually, it’s an Onion two-fer. > **[‘We Don’t Look So Bad Now, Do We?’ Says Carnival Cruise Ad In Response To...](https://www.theonion.com/we-don-t-look-so-bad-now-do-we-says-carnival-cruise-1850556812)** > > DORAL, FL—In response to a missing submersible intended to take tourists to the site of the Titanic wreckage, a new Carnival Cruise Line advertisement released Tuesday claimed “we don’t look so bad now, do we? “Everyone always said that our ships are... ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/156 "2023-06-20T22:34:09Z")
A negative 2018 letter from the Marine Technology Society: > **[full.pdf](https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/marine-technology-society-committee-2018-letter-to-ocean-gate/eddb63615a7b3764/full.pdf)** > > 311.90 KB ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/157 "2023-06-20T22:52:57Z")
> [@susan](#): > > So do I understand correctly that only the one person knows/knew how to operate the vessel and its communications? Seems like you’d want a backup for when the first person has a stroke. Supposedly the passengers are also taught how to operate the equipment on board, including communications. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/158 "2023-06-20T23:21:30Z")
Thank for that @PastTense. As I’m not a Marine engineer, I suspected that the explanation from Broomstick over here: > [@Broomstick](#): > > Pretty much anything going that deep into the ocean is “experimental”. There are no assembly lines churning out standardized vehicles for that sort of thing. Sounded too simple. While it is true that anything going that deep is “experimental” there is also “experimental” with standards. And, as it is becoming clearer, that bit about the maker of the sub avoiding standards and oversight in order to have progress; was not a great idea. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/159 "2023-06-20T23:34:28Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > This may not be the best time to point out that the piloting mechanism for the vessel is literally _an off-brand Playstation controller_. It’s a PC controller, not a Playstation controller. A lot of hay has been made of it being off-brand or a knockoff or whatever. Mostly that’s ridiculous since Logitech is a perfectly fine input device manufacturer. But this controller has a quality that I haven’t seen mentioned as a boon: it runs on normal, alkaline AA batteries. That is, not built-in lithium batteries like most modern controllers. It seems like a very wise move to not have the risk of a lithium fire in a space like that. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/160 "2023-06-20T23:36:26Z")
That would demonstrate some useful planning. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781.md?page=9)