Titanic Sub Explorer's Family Sues OceanGate For $50M

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Facts

  • The family of Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French explorer who died in the Titan submersible implosion last year, has filed a $50M wrongful-death lawsuit against the vessel's operator OceanGate Expeditions.[1][2]
  • Nargeolet was one of the Titan submersible's five passengers on the vessel that imploded during a voyage to explore the Titanic wreckage site in the North Atlantic last June.[3][4]
  • Along with Nargeolet, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman died when the Titan went under.[5][6]
  • According to the lawsuit filed in Washington on Tuesday, Nargeolet was hired to assist OceanGate during the Titan's fateful journey, but the company 'purposely concealed' the submarine's 'flaws and shortcomings.'[7][8]
  • The lawsuit also alleges that Rush used carbon fiber he bought at a discounted price from Boeing to make the Titan's hull 'because it was past its shelf life for use in airplanes.'[9][10]
  • Nicknamed 'Mr. Titanic,' Nargeolet was an experienced diver who had made more than three dozen trips down to visit the Titanic wreckage, the most of any diver in the world.[11][12]

Sources: [1]Newsweek, [2]GEO, [3]NPR Online News, [4]NBC, [5]France 24, [6]The Daily Beast, [7]New York Post, [8]Guardian, [9]New York Times, [10]Business Insider, [11]CBS and [12]Wsj.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by USA Today. OceanGate's gross negligence, persistent recklessness, and devil-may-care approach caused its experimental and troubled submersible to implode and kill unsuspecting explorers who paid a pretty penny for an eight-day adventure. A seasoned veteran of underwater exploration, Nargeolet died doing what he loved to do — but from wrongful death. OceanGate must be held responsible.
  • Narrative B, as provided by New Yorker. Every person who signs up for deepwater exploration knows its inherent risks. The waters the Titan got lost in were the same that swallowed thousands of lives on the Titanic. While the exact point of failure on the Titan may never be known, the tragic fate of its five passengers should inspire a new era of regulation for adventure tourism, including having a classification agency inspect and certify such dark, unpredictable, and dangerous tours.
  • Narrative C, as provided by The Telegraph. Deep-sea exploration is an adventurous game for the ultra-wealthy to play in their free time. While the death of the Titan's passengers is tragic and must be investigated, it's time to leave the Titanic alone. Disruptive profiteering actions, including OceanGate's, rob over 1.5K souls of their opportunity to rest in peace. The abnormal hunger for extreme adrenaline rushes mustn't replace the passion for exploring and protecting the world's oceans.

Predictions