Tragically, the Coast Guard's search for the missing Titanic submarine has come to an end after it experienced a "catastrophic implosion" that killed all five of the occupants. Video / AP
A warning from his son could have possibly have saved the lives of Jay Bloom and his son Sean.
For a year, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush had been trying to convince Las Vegas real estate developer Jay to take a trip to the Titanic on his submersible.
According to Jay, the trip was meant to be a ‘bucket list’ trip for his Titanic-loving son. Sean, 20, was initially also excited about the idea.
But after Sean mentioned the dive to a friend it started to raise some red flags for the father and son, Jay told The Project Australia.
Jay Bloom, right, and his son Sean turned down seats on the Titan submersible, a decision that saved their lives. Photo / Jay Bloom
Fears of whales and giant squid attacking the craft gave way to more real fears - including the experimental carbon fibre hull and the games controller that operated the craft. Jay says it concerned him that the company was using consumer-grade electronics for a commercial application in possibly the most hostile environment on the planet.
Rush, who was among the five people who died in the tragedy, flew out to Las Vegas to meet with Jay on March 1. They toured the Titanic exhibition at the Luxor Hotel and over lunch talked about the dive and the safety issues. Rush was apparently absolutely convinced that it was safer than crossing the street.
Shahzada Dawood, Suleman Dawood, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Stockton Rush, and Hamish Harding died following an implosion of the Titan submersible.
“Stockton viewed the safety concerns I raised as more of a difference of opinion rather than a factual problem.” Jay told The Project.
“I thought he was being somewhat cavalier about real risks and somewhat irresponsible and reckless. It didn’t come from a malicious place - he believed in what he was saying.”
Jay posted texts to his Facebook page allegedly showing messages between himself and Rush, discussing plans to go on the trip. In his attempts to talk Jay into the expedition he even offered a substantial discount.
“As late as the end of May, or in mid-May, he was texting me that they had spots open a week or two out. And he offered me $100,000 off each of our tickets,” said Jay.
Suleman was “terrified” and “wasn’t up for the trip”, according to his aunt Azmeh Dawood, but he took it because it was Father’s Day and he didn’t want to disappoint his father.
Jay said seeing all the media coverage of the Titan tragedy was a constant reminder of just how close he and his son came to being among the victims.
“All I could see when I saw that father and son was myself and my son, that could’ve been us,” Jay told CNN.
At least 46 people successfully travelled on OceanGate’s submersible to the Titanic wreck site in 2021 and 2022, according to letters the company filed with a US District Court in Norfolk, Virginia, that oversees matters involving the Titanic shipwreck. But questions about the submersible’s safety were raised by former passengers.
“Imagine a metal tube a few metres long with a sheet of metal for a floor. You can’t stand. You can’t kneel. Everyone is sitting close to or on top of each other,” said Arthur Loibl, a retired businessman and adventurer from Germany. “You can’t be claustrophobic.”
During the two-and-a-half-hour descent and ascent, the lights were turned off to conserve energy, he said, with the only illumination coming from a fluorescent glow stick.
