‘I expressed safety concerns’: Chat between OceanGate CEO and billionaire who was set to go on doomed Titan voyage viral
Jay Bloom has revealed that he and his son were offered two seats in the doomed Titan submersible by Stockton Rush
Las Vegas billionaire real estate developer Jay Bloom has revealed that he and his son were offered two seats in the doomed Titan submersible. However, he refused to participate over both scheduling issues and safety concerns. Their seats were taken over byPakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman.
The three other passengers who went on the ill-fated journey wereOceanGate Expeditions CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, and French diver Paul Henry Nargeolet.All the passengers were killed in acatastrophic implosion – an underwater implosion that led to the vessel suddenly collapsing.
In a Facebook post, Jay shared screenshots of his conversation with Stockton, who he believes was very confident that the trip was not so risky that it could end up in a tragedy. “In February Stockton asked me and my son, Sean, to go with him on the dive to Titanic in May. Both May dives were postponed due to weather and the dive got delayed until June 18th, the date of this trip,” Jay wrote.
“I expressed safety concerns and Stockton told me: “While there's obviously risk it's way safer than flying in a helicopter or even scuba diving. There hasn't been even an injury in 35 years in a non-military subs.””
“I am sure he really believed what he was saying. But he was very wrong. He passionately believed in what he was doing. The last time I saw Stockton in person was March 1st. He took me through the Titanic Exhibit at Luxor. Then, at lunch in the Luxor food court we talked about the dive, including safety. He was absolutely convinced that it was safer than crossing the street. He gave me a book of photos (1 of 324 produced) signed by him and Paul Henri Nargeolet, two of the five onboard the sub,” Jay said.
OceanGate says that the Titan is a 23,000-pound submersible made of carbon fibre and titanium. The vessel uses a “proprietary real-time hull health monitoring (RTM) system,” and any time an issue is detected, an “early warning” would be sent to the pilot, to leave “enough time to … safely return to the surface.”
“I told him that due to scheduling we couldn’t go until next year. Our seats went to Shahzada Dawood and his 19 year old son, Suleman Dawood, two of the other three who lost their lives on this excursion (the fifth being Hamish Harding),” Jay said.
“One last time.. RIP Stockton and crew,” he added. “As for Sean and I, after this right on the heels last week of losing Treat Williams, another friend of 25 years and former business partner, we are going to take a minute to stop and smell the roses. Tomorrow is never promised. Make the most of today.”
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is now launching an investigation into the implosion of the Titan, CNN has reported. The National Transportation Safety Board has also said that the US Coast Guard will lead the investigation into the incident.