Stockton Rush, the CEO of the company that operated the Titanic submersible, said in 2017 that the ship was aimed at ultimately winning contracts from companies extracting oil and gas from the ocean. Told.
In an interview with business magazine Fast Company, Rush said he expects demand for his company's Ocean Gate tours to decline as more affluent adventurers take up deep-sea diving.
The first few dives on the Titanic will command top prices, but as seeing the wreck becomes more common, customers will expect lower amounts, Rush told Fast Company. .
“The most expensive Virgin Galactic flight is Richard Branson's first flight,” he said.
Ocean Gate launched Titanic tours in 2021, typically charging each customer $250,000 to tour the wreck on Rush's Titan experimental submersible.
So by the time tourists were less interested in adventure diving on the Titan, Rush realized that by going 13,000 feet below the surface, the deep-sea trip itself had proven to oil and gas companies that his diving techniques were safe. I was hopeful that it would have been possible. .
“The largest resource is oil and gas, and we spend about $16 billion a year on robots to service oil and gas platforms,” Rush said, adding that companies extracting these resources are using brand-new technology. He said he disliked hiring new employees and said the equipment needed the latest technology. Proven.
Rush, the grandson of oil and gas magnate Ralph Davis, had interests in deep-sea oil and gas reserves, diamonds and rare earth minerals, Fast Company reported.
“I couldn't understand why we don't have manned submarines when there are so many resources to explore,” he told the outlet. “One of the reasons was that people weren't looking at the business side of manned submarine operations, because operations were funded by governments through universities for research. We didn't think about it, and nobody thought about the bottom line.”
Ocean Gate will not extract resources, but will help with inspections, repairs and maintenance, he said.
Although Rush had business in mind, it is also clear from past reports that he sought adventure and wanted to be a pioneering explorer. He had connections with the Explorers Club, an elite group of scientists and explorers. tribute to rush He also said that he gave a lecture at the company's headquarters.
He earned his pilot's license at age 19 and was originally a test flight engineer for the F-15 fighter program. Rush called himself a “daredevil inventor” in a 2019 Smithsonian profile.
But the CEO, who was at the controls when the Titan went missing on Sunday, has been warned multiple times by people inside and outside Ocean Gate about the sub's safety issues.
He challenged traditional submersible design by utilizing carbon fiber in the construction of the hull. In a 2021 interview, he acknowledged that he “broke some rules” by using such materials, but was confident in the safety of the design and said it was innovative and cost effective. It was effective.
Rush also repeatedly criticized safety regulations, calling them “unreasonably safe” and too strict.
He was one of five people killed instantly when the Titan exploded under the pressure of the deep sea.
When asked about Rush's plans to enter the oil and gas industry, an Oceangate representative told Insider the company had no further information to share.
