Name: Former OceanGate employee shared concerns about sub
Uploaded: 2023-06-21T13:45:32.238Z
Duration: 2 min 10 s
Description: OceanGate, the company behind the submersible that went missing while visiting the wreckage of the Titanic, was once the subject of a massive lawsuit from an employee who alleged he was fired because he had raised safety concerns over how deep the vessel could descend.

OceanGate, the company behind the submersible that went missing while visiting the wreckage of the Titanic, was once the subject of a massive lawsuit from an employee who alleged he was fired because he had raised safety concerns over how deep the vessel could descend.



Everett

Crews have found the wreckage of a submersible that vanished on an expedition to the wreck of the Titanic, with all five onboard killed.

Titanic Submersible

Former OceanGate employee shared concerns about sub

Meanwhile, court documents show that Submersible was once the subject of a lawsuit right here in Washington. Yeah, we're learning more about a former employee turned whistleblower. Joining us from Everett outside Oceangate's headquarters is our own Dan Griffin. Dan, what do we know about the legal battle this company was in? Well, good morning to you. Yeah, we know that the company and the employee both sued each other. The company basically saying that he disclosed confidential information. He counter-sued, saying that Oceangate fired him for voicing his concerns. So this takes us back to 2018. The former employee, David Lockridge, claimed in a countersuit that he used an inspection report that found several problems that posed, quote, serious safety concerns and offered corrective action and recommendations. And after his inspection report, a meeting was called with high-ranking leaders in the company. Now, we've learned that the viewport at the forward of the Submersible was only built to handle the pressure of 1,300 meters, even though Oceangate planned to take passengers to depths of 4,000 meters. Apparently, the viewport manufacturer would only certify to the 1,300 meters due to the experimental design. Now, Lockridge's countersuit claims that instead of addressing his concerns, they fired him. His lawsuit claims in part, quote, issues of quality control with the new Submersible Titan were raised as there were evident flaws throughout the build process that several individuals had expressed concerns over to the engineering director, end quote. A settlement was reached in that lawsuit. In an interview several years ago after the lawsuit was filed, Stockton Rush, the CEO and founder of Oceangate, had this to say as they worked on the quality of the Sub over time. Everyone who goes on board the Sub is a member of the crew, so they all have a job to do. Nobody gets to sit there. We don't take passengers. We don't go on rides. We, you know, if somebody wants to do that, well, we can go private charter. But what we do is meaningful dives. We have a researcher on board and then three clients, which we call mission specialists, who help underwrite the expedition. All right, so this expedition is the company's third voyage to the Titanic. Right now, officials say they are grateful for the help from numerous officials trying to find this, and they're also saying that they're praying for the safe return of the crew and passengers. Of course, we're going to keep you updated on what we're hearing as we continue to follow this story. But for now, reporting live, Dan Griffin, Fox 13 News.

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Titanic Submersible