ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — The small submersible missing in the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean has not been subject to industry\u002Dstandard tests and scrutiny,…
William Kohnen, president and CEO of the California-based engineering firm Hydrospace Group, was hesitant to comment on the situation in an interview Tuesday night, as the search has not yet concluded. But he said it’s difficult to know what went wrong because the Titan isn’t classed.
When a craft undergoes classification, a recognized third-party agency reviews its design and construction to ensure it has been tested properly and that it’s safe, Kohnen said. Engineers, he explained, know how a submersible should be designed and equipped to be safe. But since the Titan isn’t classed, “we do not know what system the vehicle has or does not have,” he said.
Classification is not required by law, but the Titan’s disappearance may increase pressure to change that, he said, adding that 95 per cent of all submersibles are classed.Article contentA group of engineers and industry experts, including Kemper and Kohnen, wrote a 2018 letter addressed to OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, first obtained by The New York Times, warning that the company’s “experimental” approach to the vessel could have “catastrophic” consequences.
In a 2019 blog post, OceanGate explained that Titan was not classed because the classification process could inhibit innovation and did not address pilot error, which it said are the cause of most marine accidents. “Our risk assessment team looks at the entire expedition and completes a detailed, quantified risk assessment for each dive, the post reads. “The risk assessment takes into account 25 specific factors that can influence a dive outcome. Using that information, a dive plan is written to mitigate against these known risks.”Share this article in your social network
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