Long before the tragic implosion of the Titan submersible that claimed the lives of five people, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, the company’s first prototype vessel, the steel-hulled Cyclops, encountered its own set of navigational difficulties. A recounting by Wired magazine sheds light on a troubling incident that foreshadowed the potential risks associated with the company’s ambitious endeavours.
During a dive in Seattle’s Elliott Bay nearly a year prior to the Titan disaster, the Cyclops submersible found itself lost and disoriented. The dive, intended to explore a sunken rail ferry that once carried President Theodore Roosevelt, took an unexpected turn when the thruster software glitched, leaving the vessel floating aimlessly just above the seafloor. Compounding the issue, the sub’s compass malfunctioned, rendering the crew unable to determine their precise location or heading.
In a desperate attempt to regain their bearings, Rush turned to an unlikely source of navigation – an iPhone. He asked his companion, a journalist from Wired, to open the compass app on their phone, intending to compare the readings with his own device. Despite the discrepancy between the headings, Rush rebooted the thrusters and set off in what he believed was the correct direction.
The situation took a concerning turn when a faint voice transmitted via an acoustic link from the support ship tracking them on the surface informed them that they were heading in the “exactly wrong direction.” Eventually, after navigating through the murkiness, the sunken ship’s rotting bow emerged into the Cyclops’ headlight, providing a sense of relief and accomplishment amidst the unsettling experience.
Upon returning to the dock, Rush brushed off the navigational issues encountered during the dive, dismissing them as mere “bugs” that would be ironed out in future iterations of the submersible. He justified the Cyclops 1’s purpose as a means to identify and address these very challenges before embarking on the construction of a more advanced and capable vessel.
This incident, though downplayed by Rush at the time, raised concerning questions about the company’s approach to safety and risk management. The reliance on consumer-grade technology like an iPhone’s compass app to navigate a submersible vessel highlights the potential vulnerabilities that could arise from inadequate testing and preparation.
As the investigation into the Titan tragedy continues, this past incident with the Cyclops prototype serves as a sobering reminder of the importance of rigorous safety protocols and thorough testing in the development of advanced underwater exploration vehicles.