- Extraord-inary that the three passengers were willing to take such huge risks descending 13,000 feet into the ocean in what looked like a glorified cigar tube never officially approved for the purpose and described as "experimental". They even had to sign a document stating that the operator accepted no liability for personal harm - including death - or for any adverse reactions from the trip.
- Extraordinary that two members of the same family - Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman - were both on the trip, despite the possibility they could both die.
- Extraordinary that the submersible ceased to transmit its location, so rescue vessels had to search a massive area to try and find it.
- Extraordinary that people want to view the wreckage of the Titanic close-up in such a dangerous fashion when they could google images of the wreckage at any time.
- Extraordinary that so many oceanic experts like the Marine Technology Society had criticised the submersible as being badly designed and not fit for purpose, but were unable to stop it being used.
- Extraordinary that the cost of the totally frivolous trip was around $250,000 (£195,000), which only very wealthy thrill-seekers could afford.
On thing's for sure - OceanGate, the trip's organisers, have a lot of very awkward questions to answer.
Pic: Hamish Harding, the billionaire on board the submersible
Nick, I find all this fuss about these crazy billionairs indecent. I have no interest in following such news and their so called adventure to have a look at the Titanic wreck for 250 00 euros. And I wonder how much it has cost for the research of the Titan. More than 500 refugees drowned last week in front of the Greek cost and it was a one day news. Sorry but for me there is something wrong with people's interest.
ReplyDeleteHannah
Hannah: Oh yes, in human terms, the missing 500 people in the Greek boat tragedy are much more important, but I think the submersible disaster fascinated a lot of people because of all the extraordinary aspects of it. Certainly the cost of the sea search should be paid for by the wealthy families involved.
DeleteGreek coast of course.
ReplyDeleteHannah
Nick, I am rarely lost for words. Currently I am incoherent - such is my outrage at foolishness.
ReplyDeleteSo, yes, I agree with all your points and Hannah's.
My heart goes out to those who - through no fault of their own - are caught in adverse circumstances,fighting the elements. But for some guys actively putting themselves at a mega risk (for what gain exactly?) is outrageous.
OK, let's keep it in perspective. Four of them were, given their age, with, say, a third of their foot in the grave anyway. The nineteen year old? I am glad I am not his mother. What the eff was his father thinking of taking his son on this "thrill"? I am, literally, besides myself with anger. Even my usual Zen (calm) has abseiled momentarily.
U
PS To top it all that capsule was named Titan. With a nod to the Titanic? Talk about tempting fate. You don't even need an iceberg. Compression at several thousand meters down the ocean will do.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Ursula: Foolishness indeed. Even utter stupidity. It's reported that the 19-year-old boy was terrified at the thought of going on the trip but did so to please his father because it was Fathers' Day. What was his father thinking, allowing him on the trip?
DeleteUrsula: There are different reports about the 19 year old. His aunt said he was terrified at the thought of doing the trip, but his mother said he was so keen to go along that she gave up her own place for him to go.
DeleteYes, Nick, thanks for the update. Just read that version. Who to believe?
DeleteI don't know what to make of the mother. How "generous" of her to give up her place. Perish the thought of the nineteen year old, left on dry land, being (potentially) orphaned twice over. Well, I suppose better than dead himself.
I can only reiterate, in different wording, that if my son (not that he'd ever take a ridiculous risk for nothing - for that he is too intelligent) had come up with this hare brained idea we'd have had the show down of all times. I would have pulled no punches to stop him - including emotional coercion which isn't my style at all.
So, on the whole, I think the first version you offered, namely that it was Father's Day and the boy wanted to please his father is the one I'll go with. Which still doesn't answer the question why his mother went along with it. One thing is for sure, Nick: Some people will do things (against their will, nature and instinct) in order to please their father. Gung Ho. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
U
Ursula: Yes, Jenny and I were pondering the possibility of his being orphaned. I wonder if his mother was being loyal to his father by making out he was raring to go. I think you'd have been absolutely right to have forbidden your son from taking the trip.
DeleteIt also illustrates that in such cases, the consequences of people's risk-taking and incompetence are not borne solely by themselves. The costs of the search-and-rescue effort must have run well into the millions. I hope the company's assets can be seized to recover some of that cost.
ReplyDeletePart of the reason it was built as a submersible rather than a real submarine was to exploit a legal technicality which exempted it from normal safety regulations. The incompetence thus allowed was criminal. For example, the "porthole" was only rated safe for depths of up to 1,300 meters, while the depth of the Titanic (and thus the pressure) is three times that. People who evade safety rules often end up discovering, in tragic fashion, why they exist.
Infidel: Hear hear to all of that. As you say, the disaster has left other people to bear the enormous cost of the search operation. I doubt if the company has enough assets to cover the cost. And I doubt if their families will stump up the money.
DeleteAn option that occurred to me for dealing with the cost problem would be to require people who go on extremely risky ventures like this to pay into an insurance fund that would cover the cost of rescues. Anyone who can afford $250,000 for a brief trip can afford a further $100,000 for insurance coverage. Better yet, make the companies that do these foolish things pay for insurance and just pass along the cost in the ticket price. There's precedent -- we require people to buy insurance to drive a car. It's better than having US and Canadian taxpayers on the hook for millions because of a few people's foolishness.
DeleteInfidel: That's an excellent idea. Compulsory insurance included in the ticket price. It's scandalous that the public in several countries will be footing the bill for the epic search operation.
DeleteI said the exact same thing as Hannah said to my husband last night when the news came on.
ReplyDeleteYes, it makes me angry too.
Sx
Ms Scarlet: What I said to Hannah. The whole thing is quite extraordinary in so many ways. Just the fact that they were willing to take such gigantic risks for such a trivial experience is breath-taking.
DeleteMary says "There's no way I would have gotten in that thing"
ReplyDeleteMary: Me neither. Apart from anything else I would have a violent attack of claustrophia.
DeleteOur nephews explored and mapped the stormwater sewers in Minneapolis. When they found an area that was underwater, they built a submersible to explore it.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, they didn't try to go beyond its capabilities.
Linda
Linda: Very wise of them. It looks as if the submersible simply wasn't built to withstand deep-ocean conditions.
DeleteStrange indeed!
ReplyDeleteColette: Strange that people are so willing to risk their lives in the name of some pointless joy ride.
DeleteWhile any loss of life is tragic, Nick, I have to agree that the 5 individuals on the submersible tempted fate and not only paid in $ but ultimately with their lives. It is was sad to learn of their fate, but even sadder that such much media attention was paid to this story instead of some other tragic stories like the migrant boat sinking, also such a tragic loss of life. There's a disparity in that the 5 men who died under the ocean had the money for a foolhardy excursion compared to the refugees who did not.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice: The shocking thing about the migrant boat sinking was just how many people were crammed into it. It obviously increased the chances of a terrible disaster and a huge loss of life.
DeleteSo much wrong with the endless coverage and wtf is the actual cost of the "rescue" efforts? they all knew it had imploded when it had lost communication and kept that fact hidden. And the boy was forced to go with his dad. I am so over the coverage of this. And so very little on the ALL the women and children dying off that bathtub of a boat off the Greek Coast as the Greek coastguard RAN AWAY.
ReplyDeleteenraged,
yes
XO
WWW
www: It's very odd that they kept the "rescue" mission going for so long when they knew the submersible and its occupants were gone. What was the point? And yes, not enough coverage of the awful Greek boat sinking.
DeleteMary: Me neither. Just the doubts about its ability to withstand the colossal water pressure on the sea bed would frighten me off. Plus the instant claustrophobia it would induce.
ReplyDeleteAn absurd and senseless tragedy. I can only imagine the future tragedies that will happen for civilians signing up for space travel.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: Absurd and senseless indeed. A 19 year old boy dead for the sake of a highly dangerous ocean dive.
ReplyDelete