Safety Concerns Are Not a Personal Insult

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The late Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate. (OceanGate)

If you go to the OceanGate Expeditions website, home of the recently lost Titan submersible, you will notice two statements that say it all:

  • A PR blurb for interested tourists: “95% of the Earth’s ocean is unexplored. You can change that.”
  • And the current status of the expeditions for interested tourists: “OceanGate has suspended all exploration and commercial operations.”

Exploring is fine, but you are not helping to explore the other 95 percent of the Earth’s ocean if you keep going down to the same spot. In addition, “commercial” operations should not be resumed until safety is part of the package.

The New York Post recently published an article, “Titan Sub CEO was on ‘Predatory’ Hunt for Rich Clients to Join Deadly Dive, Industry Leader Says,” highlighting how Stockton Rush ignored safety concerns shared by others, seeing them as a personal insult.

I hope a few other CEOs out there looking at commercial space tourism opportunities are closely reviewing this gruesome case study.