OceanGate chief Stockton Rush planned to die in submersible, friend claims

The New York Post reported that commercial submersible expert Karl Stanley, a longtime friend of Stockton Rush, claimed the OceanGate chief executive officer always planned to die at the wreck of the Titanic. Stanley alleged that Rush designed a makeshift submersible to implode at the sea floor, describing the vessel as a mousetrap for billionaires. [1]

According to the New York Post, Stanley claimed Rush wanted to become part of Titanic mythology alongside the wealthy tourists who paid to ride the vessel. Author Matt spoke with Stanley, who stated that Rush was a good engineer whose machine did exactly what he designed it to do. [1]

Rush was an American businessman who co-founded and served as the chief executive officer of OceanGate, a deep-sea exploration company. On June 18, 2023, the OceanGate submersible Titan imploded during an expedition to view the wreck of the Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. [2][3]

All five people aboard the submersible were killed in the implosion. Alongside Rush, the victims were French deep-sea explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British businessman Hamish Harding, Pakistani-British businessman Shahzada Dawood, and his son Suleman Dawood. [3]