OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush wanted to join ‘Titanic mythology’ when Titan sub imploded, friend claims

A longtime friend of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush has made claims that Rush intentionally designed the Titan submersible to implode on its dive to the Titanic wreck, with the goal of becoming part of the "Titanic mythology". According to Karl Stanley, a commercial submersible expert and friend of Rush, the CEO's ego was a driving factor in his decision. Stanley allegedly told author Matthew Gavin Frank that Rush was willing to die and kill others to be the central figure in the story, and that he wanted to die at the Titanic wreck for maximum publicity.

The Titan submersible lost contact with its support ship on June 18, 2023, while descending to the Titanic wreckage in the North Atlantic. A multinational search was launched after debris was found four days later, and officials confirmed that the Titan had imploded, killing all five people onboard, including Rush and four wealthy passengers. The passengers had paid up to $250,000 to be on the dive.

A U.S. Coast Guard investigation later determined that the disaster was preventable. In his book, "Submersed: Wonder, Obsession and Murder in the World of Amateur Submarines", Frank wrote that Rush's ambitions went beyond his own death, and that he intentionally chose the name Titan, which was borrowed from a 1898 novel about a doomed ocean liner, to draw a parallel with the Titanic.

Stanley allegedly told Frank that Rush needed to compel more than just his own death to become part of the larger story, and that he knowingly fabricated a "futile" vessel, costumed in a Titanic name, as his murder weapon. Frank asked Stanley if he believed Rush knew the sub was going to implode and intended it to, and Stanley replied, "I know this is what happened."

The claims have raised questions about the responsibility of those involved in the dive, with some experts suggesting that a manslaughter charge may be more likely than a first-degree murder charge, given that Rush was risking his own life on the dive.