Boelter pleads guilty in lawmaker attacks, agrees to two life sentences

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

OceanGate said it is suspending its commercial and exploration operations after five people were killed aboard its Titan submersible on a trip to the Titanic shipwreck in June.

No other details were provided in the brief statement on its website, and OceanGate was not immediately available for comment.

The Titan submersible launched on June 18, destined 2.4 miles below the surface and is believed to have imploded that same day.

Among the victims were OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British businessman Hamish Harding, Pakistani investor Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, and French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

“Well, an accident of this magnitude definitely brings attention. ... Will it shut down the type of tourism? Absolutely not. I think what will happen in the probably shorter than longer term is that it will raise even more interest,” said Alain Grenier, a high-risk travel researcher at the University of Quebec.

Grenier said people will still engage in activities despite their risk, such as climbing Mount Everest or riding in airplanes and cars.

“Once they can be convinced again that the activities are safe, then they will go back,” he said. “The human nature is to think, 'Well, this will happen to other people. This won't happen to me. I will be more careful.'“

NPR's Matilda Wilson contributed to this report. 

Business and Economic News

Disasters

Ayana Archie

Author

OceanGate did not offer additional details about pausing its operations. Its CEO, Stockton Rush, was among the five people killed when the company's Titan submersible imploded in June.

OceanGate suspends its commercial and exploration operations after Titan implosion

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox