Titanic submarine live updates: “catastrophic implosion” on the Titan | latest news and reactions

An LA investor turned down a dive trip to the Titanic

Over the course of a year Stockton Rush struggled to convince Las Vegas-based investor Jay Bloom to buy a few spots on his company’s submersible. The intention was to allow Bloom and his son to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime expedition to explore the deep-sea wrecks of Titanic. Joseph Ax reports for Reuters.

First concerns about titanium

In an interview on Friday, Bloom voiced his initial intrigue. His son Sean, now 20 years old, had developed a childhood fascination with the ill-fated British liner. However there As Bloom delved deeper into researching the Titan submersible, his concerns about its safety grew. Consequently, he politely declined a last-minute opportunity to join the final expedition of the season, citing scheduling conflicts.

Instead, the two available seats on board were filled by Shahzada Dawood, a magnate of Pakistani origin, and his son Suleman, who both tragically lost their lives along with Rush and two others when the Titan collapsed deep beneath the surface of the Atlantic.

For Bloom, who recently lost a close friend, actor Treat Williams, in a motorcycle accident, this tragedy was a poignant reminder of life’s true priorities.

“Whenever I see a picture of this Pakistani businessman and his 19-year-old son, I think how easily I and my 20-year-old son could have been – if it weren’t for the grace of God.” expressed Bloom.

After the US Coast Guard confirmed the discovery of titanium fragments on the sea floor on Thursday, Bloom shared on Facebook a series of text messages between himself and Rush from earlier in the year. In those messages, Rush dismissed any notion that the journey was dangerous.

“While there’s definitely a risk, it’s far safer than flying a helicopter or even scuba diving.” Rush wrote in a message, claiming that no one had been harmed aboard a non-military submarine in the past 35 years.

Despite Rush’s assurances Bloom, who holds a private helicopter license, remained unconvinced. He had particular concerns about using consumer components such as a video game joystick to control the ship. Bloom was also concerned about the new carbon fiber hull and the fact that passengers could not open the Titan from the inside, even in an emergency.

“The more I learned about Stockton’s surgeries, the more concerned I became.” he explained.

Current questions about OceanGate

Guillermo Söhnlein, Rush’s co-founder of OceanGate in 2009, confirmed this Rush was acutely aware of the dangers of exploring the deep sea and showed a strong risk aversion.

However, back in 2018, questions about the safety of the Titan design were raised by both industry experts and a former employee of Rush’s company.

Bloom noted that Rush remained unwavering in his confidence.

“It was his dream,” Bloom noted. “He’s a good guy, I really liked him and I think he had good intentions. But he became too convinced of his own beliefs.