It has been reported that OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush employed college-aged interns to design the electrical systems for the Titan submersible. Stockton, along with British billionaire Hamish Harding, French diver Paul Henry Nargeolet, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman, died after the vessel was destroyed in a catastrophic implosion.
"The whole electrical system — that was our design, we implemented it, and it works," former intern Mark Walsh told Washington State University's college newspaper in February 2018. The college newspaper says Mark graduated in 2017 with a degree in electrical engineering and started out as an intern. He later joined OceanGate full-time as their electrical engineering lead. Mark further claimed that he had hired some more interns from his college and was looking to hire more to work at OceanGate. Mark’s LinkedIn profile says he worked at OceanGate for two years before leaving the company in 2019.
In a statement to The Everett Herald, Washington State University said on June 22 that they do not "have an alliance with OceanGate." "We are aware that some of our graduates have worked at OceanGate. To our knowledge, one graduate currently works there," the university added.
OceanGate was also hiring interns from Everett Community College's Ocean Research College Academy, it has been reported. The college, however, stopped offering internships with OceanGate in 2019. Ardi Kveven, the academy's executive director, said that "there was often a disconnect between the exploration community, which embraced pushing the envelope, and the more methodical scientific community."
{{/usCountry}}OceanGate was also hiring interns from Everett Community College's Ocean Research College Academy, it has been reported. The college, however, stopped offering internships with OceanGate in 2019. Ardi Kveven, the academy's executive director, said that "there was often a disconnect between the exploration community, which embraced pushing the envelope, and the more methodical scientific community."
{{/usCountry}}Stockton reportedly acknowledged two years ago that the Titan submersible’s design had "broken some rules." In a 2021 interview with Mexican YouTuber alanxelmundo, Stockton said he wished to be remembered as an innovator. "I think it was General MacArthur who said: 'You're remembered for the rules you break,'" Stockton said. He then said he acknowledges that he had “broken some rules" with the Titan's manufacturing, however, he had confidence that the vessel was safe.
"I think I've broken them with logic and good engineering behind me. Carbon fiber and titanium? There's a rule you don't do that," he told alanxelmundo. "Well, I did."
The Titan’s hull was constructed with aerospace-grade carbon fibre, even though submersible hulls are typically made with solid metals like steel or titanium. Several emails and messages between experts and Stockton went viral after his death, revealing that he dismissed repeated warnings that the submersible was not safe.