Titan hearings resume after previous witnesses testify about safety concerns

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Financial woes, safety concerns, a lightning strike and final messages sent by the Titan submersible were highlighted as a Coast Guard hearing was underway in North Charleston.

Here’s what happened Monday before Day 2 of the hearing begins.

The day began with a basic breakdown of facts gathered regarding the Titan, a manned submersible set out to explore the Titanic wreckage when it imploded. Following the breakdown came an animation revealing Titan’s last messages to its support vessel, POLAR PRINCE, before all contact was lost.

The former OceanGate Engineering Director Tony Nissen was the first witnesses called to the stand. Throughout his testimony, he maintained the Titan had problems that heightened throughout his employment including being struck by lightning while in the Bahamas.

Nissen said he later discovered a crack in the Titan hull which he attributed to the lightning strike. When he notified Stockton Rush, OceanGate’s founder and CEO, that the vessel was likely compromised, Stockton said, “It would be okay,” Nissen alleged.

These events led Nissen to not sign off on a July 2019 expedition, Stockton wanted the Titan to perform as the crack had not been addressed. Nissen was fired in June 2019 for not signing off, he testified. This was not out of character, according to Nissen. He explained Stockton always got what he wanted or it was “death by a thousand cuts.”

Next up to the witness stand, virtually, was Bonnie Carl, OceanGate’s former human resources and finance director. Carl said that while she was there from March 2017 to her exit in February 2018 money was always tight.

The company rarely had money coming in and shareholders were mainly Stockton’s friends and family. Sometimes when money was low, Stockton would provide a temporary loan to the company for payroll payments, Carl testified.

Despite this, she said the reason for her exit was OceanGate’s attitude towards safety concerns raised. In one instance, Carl recounted seeing what she estimated to be 18-year-old’s “wrenching away on equipment.”

As the day came to a close, Coast Guard panelists called Tym Catterson, a longtime former contractor for the company, to speak. Catterson also reinforced the theme of safety concerns among OceanGate employees.

He told panelists that he himself would not have felt comfortable going down to the Titanic in the submersible although he was present on POLAR PRINCE the day of the implosion.

Catterson explained he brought his concerns to Stockton and other top employees over six times however he was told several engineers were working on the vessel and Stockton was confident in it.

For day two of the Titan Marine Board of Investigation hearings, former Operations Director David Lochridge will be questioned the entire time.

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