A tearful mission specialist recounted collecting personal belongings from the victims of the OceanGate sub before it dove under the water and found tragedy.
Renata Rojas, the mission specialist from the US submersible company that operated the expedition, tearfully addressed the US Coast Guard Titan Marine Board of Investigations panel on Thursday. She talked about her role in preparing missions and her own trips down to the Titanic wreckage.
Once Rojas was finished, former OceanGate scientific director Dr Steven Ross spoke about a frightening mission that left him and other passengers at the surface unable to get out of the Titan submersible.
“The rest of the passengers tumbled about,” he said. “I ended up standing on the rear bulkhead. One passenger was hanging upside down.”
They were just two of the witnesses who have testified to the panel investigating the “catastrophic implosion” of the Titan submersible that killed all five passengers.
Earlier this week, David Lochridge, a former OceanGate employee, stated he had “no confidence whatsoever” with the Titan’s construction.
“It was inevitable something was going to happen. It was just a [question of] when,” the whistleblower said.
Key points
- Rojas breaks down describing demeanor of passengers
- Newly-released footage of Titan sub wreckage surfaces
- OceanGate took ‘safety shortcuts,’ witness testifies
- Titan crew's final three-word text revealed
In photos: Key moments from the hearings so far
21:42
Michelle Del Rey
Watch: Coast Guard releases footage that provided ‘conclusive evidence’ that Titan passengers died
20:42
Michelle Del Rey
Hearing has concluded for the day
19:48
Michelle Del Rey
The US Coast Guard’s hearing on the Titanic submersible tragedy has concluded for the day and will resume at 8.30am on Friday.
Former scientific director says OceanGate CEO thought Titan would be good for ‘indefinite’ dives
19:27
Michelle Del Rey
Steven Ross says that he once asked Stockton Rush how long the Titan would be good for until it needed refurbishments. Typically, subs need to be refurbished after a certain number of dives because of the pressures at deep levels.
But, Rush told Ross he thought his design would be good for “indefinite” trips to the Titanic wreckage.
Steven Ross is avoiding making direct answers
19:00
Michelle Del Rey
Testimony from the former scientific director is vague. He is avoiding giving direct answers to questions presented to him by the panel.
Ross describing a dive that was aborted in June 2023
18:56
Michelle Del Rey
During one dive Ross was on, the platform malfunctioned.
Five people were inside the Titan and the seas were not calm. It took an hour to let those on board get out of the water.
“There’s nothing to hold onto inside the submersible really. It’s a fairly smooth tube,” he said.
“The pilot crashed into the rear bulkhead. The rest of the passengers tumbled about. I ended up standing on the rear bulkhead. One passenger was hanging upside down. The other two managed to wedge themselves into the bow end cap.”
He spoke to Stockton Rush about the issue, but could not recall OceanGate conducting an assessment of the Titan hull after the incident.
Steven Ross says he aware of a theory about a ‘loud noise’ during dive
18:44
Michelle Del Rey
During one OceanGate dive, the crew heard a “loud noise” that the crew speculated came from the shifting of the pressure steel its metal cradle when it popped back into place.
Ross says OceanGate had “multiple agendas”
18:22
Michelle Del Rey
During most of his scientific career, the focus on expeditions primarily focused on science, but Ross says OceanGate had “multiple agendas,” notably going to see the Titanic shipwreck.
Dr Steven Ross, former scientific director of OceanGate, testifying
18:14
Michelle Del Rey
Dr Stephen Ross is currently describing his background and his role working with the company.
Renata Rojas went down to see Titanic wreckage
17:35
Michelle Del Rey
Renata Rojas, a mission specialist went to see the Titanic. She said it had been her dream as a child to see the wreckage. She visited it with OceanGate in 2021.
Renata Rojas delivers emotional closing statement
16:57
Michelle Del Rey
“What we’ve all gone through is still very raw. Nothing is ever going to bring our friends back,” she said. “I hope that this investigation creates an understanding that with exploration, there’s risks. And without taking that risk and exploration, the world would still be flat.
“I hope that innovation continues so we can make the oceans accessible to people like me who got to fufill a dream.”
Rojas recalls losing communications with Titan submersible
16:28
Michelle Del Rey
Mission specialist Renata Rojas says she had just finished her lunch when the team lost communications with the Titan submersible.
She said Stockton Rush’s wife, Wendy Rush, usually sat at the communications table.
Mission specialist breaks down describing collecting belongings of Titan crew members
16:00
Michelle Del Rey
Shortly before crew members stepped into the Titan submersible, Rojas says she was tasked with storing the belongings of crew members.
“As mission specialist, people get inside the sub, they have to take their hat off, their lifejacket off, and we place that into each individual bags so they know it’s their belongings,” she said. “I was the one holding that bag for them as they got in the sub.”
Rojas describes reaction of crew notifying authorities
16:00
Michelle Del Rey
“It didn’t seem to be anything of concern until 6pm,” the mission specialist said, explaining when OceanGate employees thought something was wrong. “I don’t think we got concerned until it was really overdue.”
She says she believes the Canadian Coast Guard was first notified once the vessel did not resurface.
Rojas says passengers slept inside sub during one trip
15:40
Michelle Del Rey
Instead of coming back to the surface, Rojas said that weather during one dive was so dangerous that OceanGate made a decision to let passengers sleep on the vessel in the ocean for five hours.
“The weather when they came back to the surface was very rough,” she said. “It was safer for them to sleep and wake up five hours later and get them back on the platform.”
She added that one of her colleagues, Tim Catterson, a former OceanGate contractor, expressed that he would never get inside the submersible.
Rojas breaks down describing demeanor of passengers
15:27
Michelle Del Rey
Rojas broke down as she continued to describe what happened on the day of the tragedy. She said all of the passengers were excited to embark on their expedition.
“I saw five people smiling on the way to their journey,” she said. “Excited. We had wonderful weather.”
Rojas says she never felt ‘unsafe’ on OceanGate vessel
15:02
Michelle Del Rey
“I knew what I was doing was very risky,” she said. “I never at any point felt unsafe by the operation.”
Rojas says she gave OceanGate a deposit once she knew they wanted to build a submersible
14:42
Michelle Del Rey
The OceanGate mission specialist said she paid OceanGate a deposit in April 2017 for a trip in 2018. The trip was delayed until 2021 because of ongoing testing. Some of the ongoing issues included making a new carbon-fiber hull.
“It had a lot of noise,” she said. “Stockton was very verbal about the dives he did. It was noisy and the noise was not calming down. The sub was probably not strong enough.”
Renata Rojas says she disagrees with David Lochridge’s account of one of OceanGate’s dives in 2016
14:19
Michelle Del Rey
“He must have gone on a different dive,” she said. “Nobody was panicking. Nobody was crying. There was definitely no swearing or yelling.”
Earlier this week, David Lochridge said Stockton Rush, OceanGate CEO, threw the vessel’s controller at him during a voyage after a passenger began to cry over alleged concerns that Rush was driving recklessly.
“He hit me on the side of my head,” Lochridge said during testimony. Rojas said she was on the vessel during the dive but did not witness the interaction.
James Cameron says he should not have weighed in on Titan sub disaster in new interview
14:02
Michelle Del Rey
Speaking to The New York Times, filmmaker James Cameron has said that he shouldn’t have discussed what might’ve happened to the Titan submersible after the vessel imploded.
Cameron is a prominent figure in the deep-diving community. He has taken 33 dives to the wreckage of the Titanic. Following the incident, Cameron was publicly critical of OceanGate, the company that operated the Titan submersible.
When asked about his response to the hearing this week, Cameron told the outlet: “I should not have passed on hearsay information about the weights on national TV. We have enough intentional disinformation in our world today, without adding to it with undisciplined rumor mongering.”
Renata Rojas, an OceanGate mission specialist, takes the stand
13:56
Kelly Rissman
Rojas is a New York City banker. She said she was “obsessed” with the Titanic, even before the wreckage was found in 1985. So she became a scuba diver.
“I wanted to find the wreck but someone beat me to it,” she said, adding that she had been interested in finding a way to see the wreck. That’s how she found OceanGate.
Day three of hearing begins with OceanGate as witness
13:31
James Liddell
Thursday’s hearing began with its daily opening at 8.30am ET.
Renta Rojas, OceanGate’s mission specialist, will begin her testimony at approximately 9am.
OceanGate mission specialist to testify this morning
12:30
James Liddell
A mission specialist for the company that owned the Titan submersible that imploded in 2023 is scheduled to testify before the US Coast Guard on Thursday.
Renata Rojas is the latest person to testify who is connected to Titan owner OceanGate after an investigatory panel has listened to two days of testimony that raised questions about the company’s operations before the doomed mission.
Find out more below.
Remnants of Titan sub’s hull scattered on floor revealed in newly released footage
11:30
James Liddell
We're releasing more footage of the Titan salvage ahead of technical testimony and exhibits. The footage includes the aft dome, aft ring, remnants of the hull and carbon fiber debris. Transparency remains our priority as we provide context and information to the public. #TitanMBI pic.twitter.com/o65FrKNCnY
— USCG MaritimeCommons (@maritimecommons) September 18, 2024
Two more OceanGate employees to testify as hearing returns this morning
10:36
James Liddell
Two more OceanGate employees are expected to testify as witnesses today, as the US Coast Guard’s public hearing returns after a break on Wednesday.
Renata Rojas, a mission specialist for the company that owned the Titan submersible, will be first up to speak in front of Titan Marine Board of Investigations panel at approximately 9.00am ET this morning. She will address the panel until about 12.30pm, with a 10 minute recess at 10.30am.
After lunch, Dr Dr Steven Ross, OceanGate’s former scientific director, will testify at approximately 1.30pm. The hearing is expected to conclude after a break down at 3.00pm before returning on Friday morning.
Wednesday 18 September 2024 14:24
James Liddell
Hearings will resume on Thursday at 8.30am ET.
Our blog will be paused until then.
Newly-released footage of Titan sub wreckage surfaces
Wednesday 18 September 2024 09:37
James Liddell
Newly released video shows the Titan submersible’s tail cone in full detail. This remotely operated vehicle footage expands on the exhibit image released yesterday to provide clearer context and transparency. #TitanMBI Download it here: https://t.co/lz0nunnokj pic.twitter.com/AbHtpxXfwr
— USCG MaritimeCommons (@maritimecommons) September 17, 2024
David Lochridge is released as witness
Tuesday 17 September 2024 21:01
Kelly Rissman
Hearings will resume on Thursday at 8.30am.
Our blog will be paused until then.
Lochridge testifies that OceanGate took safety shortcuts
Tuesday 17 September 2024 20:07
Kelly Rissman
“The way this company was going about this project, bypassing all the standardized rules and regulations that are set in place by people with experience...they bypassed it all,” Lochridge said.
It was inevitable something was going to happen. It was just a [question of] when,” he continued.
Witnesses discuss the ‘push’ to launch the vessel
Tuesday 17 September 2024 19:30
Kelly Rissman
Lochridge told the panel that there was a “push” to launch the Titan.
“They were very push push push to get this out the door as fast as possible so they could start making profit,” he said on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, Lochridge said he “had no confidence whatsoever” with how the Titan was being built. “There was a big push to get this done and a lot of steps along the way were missed,” including safety concerns.
The day prior, Tony Nissen, the director of engineering, also remarked on the force felt to get the vessel to set sail.
When asked if there was “pressure” to start operations, Nissen told the panel: “100 percent.”
‘It screams like a mother before it implodes’: Rush told Lochridge, the witness recalled
Tuesday 17 September 2024 16:45
Kelly Rissman
When he submitted the inspection report to senior management, Lochridge said he received a message about a meeting in the board room.
“That meeting turned out to be a two-hour discussion about my termination and how my disagreements with the organization with regards to safety didn’t matter,” he told the panel.
“It doesn’t just implode. It screams like a mother before it implodes,” Rush said about carbon fiber, according to Lochridge.
The witness said the company exhibited a “total disregard for safety.”
‘A lot of steps along the way were missed’ in the building of Titan
Tuesday 17 September 2024 15:29
Kelly Rissman
“I had no confidence whatsoever” with how the Titan was being built, he said.
“There was a big push to get this done and a lot of steps along the way were missed,” including safety concerns, Lochridge said.
“Stockton had no experience building submersibles. No one did,” he said.
Speaking about OceanGate’s social media that boasted photos of its previous missions, Lochridge said: “It was all smoke and mirrors.”
He reiterated that no one should be launching a submersible without proper safety precautions — or with “faulty, deficient equipment.”
Lochridge also revealed his note attached to his January 2018 inspection report to the directors. He wrote: “It is my opinion that until suitable corrective actions are in place and closed out, Cyclops 2 (Titan) should not be manned during any of the upcoming trials.”
Lochridge says Rush threw a controller at his head
Tuesday 17 September 2024 14:43
Kelly Rissman
David Lochridge said he was hired by OceanGate in 2015 as a contractor. He later became the director of marine operations.
“They were selling me as part of this project,” he said, adding that he was “responsible” for the training.
“They wanted to be able to qualify a pilot in a day,” Lochridge said of OceanGate. “It was a huge red flag,” since it is usually a “long process.”
“I don’t like being bullied into anything. I don’t tolerate liars. If I see something that’s a risk, I will put my hand up,” he said.
Lochridge also mentioned a dive on the Cyclops I to the Andrea Doria wreckage site that went awry. The test submersible “smashed” into the wreck, but Rush refused to hand over the “Playstation controller” to Lochridge. A “paying client” insisted he hand over control.
That’s when Rush threw the controller at Lochridge’s head, he said.
David Lochridge, a highly anticipated witness, will testify today
Tuesday 17 September 2024 13:13
Kelly Rissman
OceanGate’s former operations director David Lochridge is set to take the stand before the Coast Guard panel on Tuesday.
In his 2018 inspection report, Lochridge detailed his concerns with the Titan. Not long after he wrote the report, he was fired.
Lochridge was mentioned repeatedly on Monday, during the first hearing, and appeared to be considered a trusted expert.
After Lochridge parted ways with the company, Bonnie Carl, the finance director and head of HR, said she started looking for another job. “If that was their attitude toward safety,” she didn’t want to work there, she said.
The hearings will continue tomorrow
Tuesday 17 September 2024 01:00
Kelly Rissman
The hearings are expected to span two weeks.
They will continue tomorrow starting at 8.30am ET.
We are pausing our blog until then...
Who died in the implosion?
Tuesday 17 September 2024 00:30
Kelly Rissman
All five members of the doomed submersible lost their lives after the vessel launched on June 18, 2023: founder Stockton Rush, 61, French explorer Paul Henri Nargeolet, 77, British explorer Hamish Harding, 58, UK-based Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son Suleman.
ICYMI: Titan crew's final three-word text revealed in haunting animation of submersible's journey
Monday 16 September 2024 23:30
Kelly Rissman
What to expect at tomorrow’s hearing
Monday 16 September 2024 23:00
Kelly Rissman
8:30 a.m. – Daily Opening
8:45 a.m. – 10 Minute Recess
9:00 a.m. – Mr. David Lochridge
10:30 a.m. – 10 Minute Recess
10:45 a.m. Mr. David Lochridge
12:30 p.m. – Lunch
1:30 p.m. – Mr. David Lochridge
2:45 p.m. – 10 Minute Recess
A series of unfortunate events after the Titan went undetected
Monday 16 September 2024 21:33
Kelly Rissman
The Canadian Coast Guard had been hearing a consistent “knocking” sound, Catterson said. The witness explained that the consistency signaled that the noise was coming from humans, distinct from the ocean sounds.
He thought the submersible was drifting.
The Polar Prince did not have a remotely operative vehicle (ROV) on board.
When a ROV did arrive, and it was determined that it could help find the submersible, it went to the bottom of the seafloor but died. So efforts then included recovering this “dead ROV,” Catterson said. They then tried to use sonar off the ROV to detect the submersible, but it didn’t work.
Pelagic Research Services’ ROV later arrived at the scene, and found debris within 10 minutes, he said.
Witness reveals insight into the search and rescue process
Monday 16 September 2024 21:24
Kelly Rissman
Catterson said he was part of the search and rescue operations. He was on the Polar Prince, the support vessel.
“We did everything that we could to determine whether it was a communications issue or something else,” he recalled.
Both the tracking and communications both stopped because OceanGate was using the accoustic modem, which is tied to the depth sensor for tracking purposes, also as a communications link, which was atypical, he said.
“Normally there would have been two devices,” Catterson told the panel. “This is the first case I’ve ever seen” where communications and tracking were tied together, meaning “when one fails, so does the other.”
‘No red flags’ on launch day, Catterson says
Monday 16 September 2024 21:11
Kelly Rissman
The expediton was repeatedly “weathered out,” he said, given the intense fog.
On June 18th, he said it was sunny, so it was really the only day they could have gone. It was like the day was “blessed,” he said.
OceanGate had an “extensive pre-dive,” Catterson told the panel. They started at 4am, four hours before the submersible’ launched.
He said he had never experienced such a lengthy process: “There were so many things that had to be checked. Subs do not have that many things to check over.”
Catterson was tasked with the dive checks.
“There were no red flags,” he said. “It was a good day.”
WATCH: James Cameron likens Titan submersible tragedy to Titanic
Monday 16 September 2024 20:43
Kelly Rissman
The Titan was the first sub Catterson worked on that hadn’t been classed, he testifies
Monday 16 September 2024 20:28
Kelly Rissman
When asked whether it was typical for submersibles to be classed, Catterson said: “yes.”
The Titan “would have been the first one that was not classed,” he said.
Catterson recalled conversations he had with Rush about needing to get the submersible classified — which he described as “short.”
The former contractor said he told Rush that classification is “proof of due diligence” and a way to get insurance. However, Catterson got the impression that classing the vessel “wasn’t a big of a worry for him as it is for most people.”
Tym Catterson, former OceanGate contractor, takes the stand
Monday 16 September 2024 20:21
Kelly Rissman
Catterson has been working with manned submersibles since the 1980s for a variety of companies.
He started working with OceanGate in 2003 or 2004. He said the company’s co-founders were unfamiliar with subs when he was hired.
OceanGates’s finances and safety measures under the microscope
Monday 16 September 2024 19:47
Kelly Rissman
“There was no drug testing,” Carl said.
When asked about whether safety was ever an agenda item of an OceanGate meeting, she said she couldn’t recall.
She revealed the company “basically didn’t have any money coming in” aside from investors.
“We got very low but to the point where I got very concerned that we weren’t going to make payroll one week,” she said. Rush would essentially provide a temporary loan to the company when that would happen, she said. “He would write a check.”
Carl was released as a witness.
Carl outlined her safety concerns
Monday 16 September 2024 19:34
Kelly Rissman
Carl had received some pilot traning in addition to her other roles, where she spotted some “red flags.”
“As a pilot in training, there were a couple things that gave me pause,” she said. She said she had asked Mr Nissen, the first witness, about the acrylic dome, however he wouldn’t let her see the paperwork for it.
She added that the O-Ring groove also “looked odd.”
She said she brought most of her concerns to David Lochridge, who was later fired after a writing an inspection report detailing his concerns about the vessel.
Shortly after showing Rush the inspection report, Carl understood that Lochridge was likely going to be terminated. She recalled that Lochridge had insisted on unmanned testing but Rush wanted to push forward, leading them to an “impasse” in which they had to “part ways.”
After the meeting with Lochridge, she said she started looking for another job. “If that was their attitude toward safety,” she didn’t want to work there, she said.
She left in February 2018.
Ex-OceanGate employees paint picture of founder Stockton Rush
Monday 16 September 2024 19:28
Kelly Rissman
During their testimony on Monday, two former employees told the Coast Guard panel about their involvement in the company — including their impressions of Stockton Rush.
Both former employees described a man who often made sure to get his way.
“All decisons were made by Stockton,” Carl revealed, even among discussions with board members.
Nissen had also said that dealing with Rush was like “death by a thousand cuts.”
The engineer said: “Stockton would fight for what he wanted...And he wouldn’t give an inch much. At all,” he said. “Most people would eventually back down from Stockton.”
'All good here’
Monday 16 September 2024 19:18
Kelly Rissman
Those were some of the final words that the doomed Titan submersible crew communicated before the submersible imploded on its mission to the Titanic wreckage site in June 2023.
The message, revealed as part of the Coast Guard’s Monday hearing into the circumstances of the failed mission, was sent to support vessel Polar Prince on June 18, 2023, shortly before the submersible imploded, killing all five of its crew members. It was an incident that captivated both sides of the Atlantic as crews made a mad dash to save the crew after the sub lost contact with the surface - with the world unaware that the lives had been lost.
The Coast Guard played an animated re-enactment of the Titan’s voyage that captured the submersible’s final, spotty exchange with the Polar Prince, during the Monday hearing that shed new light on the sub’s final mission.
Read the full story...
Ex HR director reveals the behind the scenes of mission specialist role
Monday 16 September 2024 19:16
Kelly Rissman
Carl, the head of HR for OceanGate, said there were two requirements she was aware of to become a mission specialist: being able to fit in the submersible and money.
While she said there were waivers and liability forms that mission specialists were supposed to sign, she said she had never seen anyone sign them, adding she “assumed” they would sign the forms before the expedition.
Funds ‘immediately’ went toward operations: witness testifies
Monday 16 September 2024 19:08
Kelly Rissman
Most of the shareholders were friends of Stockton Rush, Carl testified.
She said she was unaware of any refunds if the expeditions were cancelled. “There was no money for refunds,” she said, adding that the funds were “immediately” used for operations.
Bonnie Carl takes the stand
Monday 16 September 2024 18:58
Kelly Rissman
The second witness is the director of human resources and finance at OceanGate. She is calling in remotely.
She told the panel about her background as an accountant.
WATCH: Titan crew's final three-word text revealed in haunting animation of submersible's journey
Monday 16 September 2024 18:55
Kelly Rissman
Nissen’s testimony concludes
Monday 16 September 2024 17:55
Kelly Rissman
After hours on the stand, Nissen’s testimony came to an end.
The Coast Guard panel is expected to hear from two other ex OceanGate employees today: Bonnie Carl, the former Human Resources/Finance director and Tym Catterson, a former contractor.
After the hearing, it was clarified that Tony Nissen was referring to a prototype carbon fiber hull created in 2016, which was never used on Titanic expeditions. After Nissen left OceanGate in 2019, the company manufactured a new carbon fiber hull, which was used on the Titanic expeditions.
Nissen discusses the ‘pressure’ felt to jumpstart operations
Monday 16 September 2024 17:48
Kelly Rissman
When asked if there was “pressure” to start operations, Nissen said: “100 percent.”
‘All good here’: Animation reveals haunting final text from crew
Monday 16 September 2024 16:56
Kelly Rissman
The MBI’s animation at the start of the hearing showed final communications between and the support vessel Polar Prince and the Titan before the implosion.
The animation highlighted the spotty communications in text bubbles.,
The Polar Prince sent repeated messages that largely went unanswered. One of Titan’s final responses was “all good here,” according to the animation.
The Marine Board presented an animation model in support of the Titan submersible hearing. The entire video can be viewed from the MBI website https://t.co/3TwwWq8TGt and downloaded from here: https://t.co/7lZwbu0dXZ#TitanMBI pic.twitter.com/PToLMpLFw0
— USCG MaritimeCommons (@maritimecommons) September 16, 2024
