Deep-sea researchers say the OceanGate tragedy should not slow their work
BOSTON - While underwater robots search the debris field where the Coast Guard announced the Titan had a catastrophic implosion during its dive to the Titanic, there's increasing scrutiny on the world of deep-sea exploration.
The co-founder of OceanGate, the company behind the submersible, is defending CEO Stockton Rush, one of the five on board. "He was very risk-averse," said Guillermo Sohnlein, who's no longer connected to OceanGate. "He was very keenly aware of the risks of operating in a deep-ocean environment, and he was very committed to safety," he said.
"Moving forward, we really have so much to gain by continuing to understand the role the ocean plays on Earth," said Harvard University deep-sea biologist Peter Girguis. He said the subs he's used for academic research would have held up to the pressure.
"Would I go in a submersible tomorrow? Like the research subs? Absolutely," said Girguis. "Research submersibles are typically metals. They're spheres; they have a hatch on the top that can be opened from inside or out," he explained. That's different from the structure of the Titan's carbon fiber hull, a material Girguis doesn't use for his instruments. "I make the ones in this lab out of titanium," he said pointing to a tube he attaches to the exterior of a submersible.
Girguis said OceanGate's story raises new ethical questions. "How do we approach an individual who wants to try something totally new, and do we allow them to put others at risk even if those folks agree? It's an interesting but difficult question."