More concerns have been raised about the safety of the vehicle designed to carry passengers to the Titanic debris in the wake of the terrible deaths aboard the Titan submersible. Stockton Rush, an explorer and engineer, formed the company OceanGate, which constructed and ran Titan. However, Rush’s sales pitch was characterized as “predatory” by Triton Submarines CEO Patrick Lahey in an interview with The Times.
“He could even convince someone who knew and understood the risks… it was really quite predatory,” said Lahey, who runs a leading submarine manufacturer.
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Who is Patrick Lahey?
Patrick Lahey is the President and co-founder of Triton Submarines. He is in charge of the design and manufacturing of the Limiting Factor, the only titanium-hulled submersible in the world and the first to receive complete ocean depth certification. 11 deep-diving submersibles have been supplied by Patrick and his crew to date; each was built and continues to be certified to its original rated depth.
Patrick started diving in 1975, and thanks to his work on a variety of different projects, he has over 30 years of commercial diving and underwater experience. Patrick has contributed to the design, engineering, manufacturing, and testing of several underwater vehicles and systems throughout his career, including more than 50 manned submersibles.
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All of Triton’s yacht-based manned submersibles, which offer great viewing, ease of use, reliability, ease of maintenance, and safety, have been developed under Patrick’s direction.
Lahey had a strong friendship with Paul-Henri Nargeolet, one of the passengers who died aboard the submersible. Lahey stated, “I told him in very candid terms why he shouldn’t be out there. He understood. I believe PH thought in some way that by being out there he could help these guys avoid a tragedy but instead, he ended up in the middle of one.”
Finally, Lahey recalled his thoughts about the Titan ship during the time it had been built. He asserted that OceanGate’s submersible was very different from the submarines Triton Submarines was producing. “At the very time this monstrosity was being made, I was building the most capable subs of our age,” he added.
