OceanGate employee pushes back against idea of 'desperation' to complete missions

A key employee with the company that owned the experimental submersible that imploded en route to the wreckage of the Titanic pushed back at a question from a Coast Guard investigator about whether OceanGate felt a sense of “desperation” to complete the dives because of the high price tag.

Amber Bay, director of administration for the company that owned the doomed Titan submersible, insisted Tuesday that the company would not “conduct dives that would be risky just to meet a need.”

But she agreed that the company wanted to deliver for those who paid $250,000 and were encouraged to participate as “mission specialists.”

“There definitely was an urgency to deliver on what we had offered and a dedication and perseverance towards that goal,” she told a Coast Guard panel.

OceanGate co-founder Stockton Rush was among the five people who died when the submersible imploded in June 2023.

The Coast Guard opened a public hearing earlier this month that is part of a high level investigation into the cause of the implosion. Some of the testimony has focused on the troubled nature of the company.

On Tuesday, Bay pushed back at earlier testimony from Antonella Wilby, a former OceanGate contractor who said Bay told her “you don’t seem to have an explorer mindset” after she raised safety concerns. Bay said Wilby’s concerns were noted at the time and treated with respect. Bay added that her own duties did not include engineering or operations.

She later broke down in tears when discussing the tragedy, which was personal, because she knew the victims.

“I had the privilege of knowing the explorers lives who were lost,” Bay said through tears. “And there’s not a day that passes that I don’t think of them, their families and the loss.”

Earlier in the hearings, former OceanGate operations director David Lochridge said he frequently clashed with Rush and felt the company was committed only to making money. “The whole idea behind the company was to make money,” Lochridge testified. “There was very little in the way of science.”

Lochridge and other previous witnesses painted a picture of a company that was impatient to get its unconventionally designed craft into the water. The accident set off a worldwide debate about the future of private undersea exploration.

On Tuesday, submersible pilot and designer Karl Stanley of the Roatan Institute of Deepsea Exploration testified to provide perspective about deep-sea submersible operations and safety. He said the phenomenon of “billionaires courting scientists” has upset the economics of the industry.

Stanley also said he viewed OceanGate's characterization of paid passengers as “mission specialists” to be an attempt to avoid accountability.

“It's clearly a dodge with trying to get around U.S. regulations with passengers,” Stanley said.

Additionally, the company’s “entire business plan made zero sense,” Stanley said. He also said he felt the implosion ultimately stemmed from Rush's desire to leave his mark on history.

“There was nothing unexpected about this. This was expected by everyone who had access to a little bit of information,” Stanley said.

The hearing is expected to run through Friday and include several more witnesses, some of whom were closely connected to the company.

Businessman Guillermo Sohnlein, who helped found OceanGate with Rush, said during testimony Monday that he hoped a silver lining of the disaster is that it will inspire a renewed interest in exploration, including the deepest waters of the world’s oceans.

“This can’t be the end of deep ocean exploration. This can’t be the end of deep-diving submersibles and I don’t believe that it will be,” he said.

Coast Guard officials noted at the start of the hearing that the submersible had not been independently reviewed, as is standard practice. That and Titan’s unusual design subjected it to scrutiny in the undersea exploration community.

OceanGate, based in Washington state, suspended its operations after the implosion. The company has no full-time employees currently, but has been represented by an attorney during the hearing.

During the submersible’s final dive on June 18, 2023, the crew lost contact after an exchange of texts about Titan’s depth and weight as it descended. The support ship Polar Prince then sent repeated messages asking if Titan could still see the ship on its onboard display.

When the submersible was reported overdue, rescuers rushed ships, planes and other equipment to an area about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland. Wreckage of the Titan was subsequently found on the ocean floor about 330 yards (300 meters) off the bow of the Titanic, Coast Guard officials said. No one on board survived.

OceanGate said it has been fully cooperating with the Coast Guard and NTSB investigations since they began. Titan had been making voyages to the Titanic wreckage site going back to 2021.

Jason Neubauer, Board Chairman speaks with Amber Bay, Former OceanGate Director of Administration after her testimony at the Titan marine board of investigation hearing inside the Charleston County Council Chambers Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (Corey Connor via AP, Pool)

OceanGate's representatives question Karl Stanley, Roatan Institute of Deepsea Explorationat the Titan marine board of investigation hearing inside the Charleston County Council Chambers Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (Corey Connor via AP, Pool)

OceanGate's representative look on during Amber Bay, Former OceanGate Director of Administration's testimony at the Titan marine board of investigation hearing inside the Charleston County Council Chambers Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (Corey Connor via AP, Pool)

Amber Bay, Former OceanGate Director of Administration answers questions about torquing a fastener at the Titan marine board of investigation hearing inside the Charleston County Council Chambers Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (Corey Connor via AP, Pool)

Marcel Muise, NTSB questions Amber Bay, Former OceanGate Director of Administration at the Titan marine board of investigation hearing inside the Charleston County Council Chambers Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (Corey Connor via AP, Pool)

Amber Bay, Former OceanGate Director of Administration answers questions at the Titan marine board of investigation hearing inside the Charleston County Council Chambers Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (Corey Connor via AP, Pool)

Amber Bay, Former OceanGate Director of Administration testifies about the OceanGate Waiver and Release of Liability Agreement at the Titan marine board of investigation hearing inside the Charleston County Council Chambers Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (Corey Connor via AP, Pool)

Jason Neubauer, Board Chairman questions Amber Bay, Former OceanGate Director of Administration at the Titan marine board of investigation hearing inside the Charleston County Council Chambers Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (Corey Connor via AP, Pool)

The Titan Marine Board listens to testimony from Amber Bay, Former OceanGate Director of Administration at the Titan marine board of investigation hearing inside the Charleston County Council Chambers Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (Corey Connor via AP, Pool)

Amber Bay, Former OceanGate Director of Administration breaks down into tears while giving a final statement at the Titan marine board of investigation hearing inside the Charleston County Council Chambers Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (Corey Connor via AP, Pool)

Gim Kang, special counsel for the Coast Guard's Titan Submersible Marine Board of Investigation, listens during the formal hearing inside the Charleston County Council Chambers, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (Laura Bilson/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool)

Members of the Coast Guard's Titan Submersible Marine Board of Investigation listen during the formal hearing inside the Charleston County Council Chambers, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (Laura Bilson/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool)

In a still from from a video animation provided by the United States Coast Guard an illustration of the Titan submersible, right, is shown near the ocean floor of the Atlantic Ocean, as June 18, 2023 communications between the submersible and the support vessel Polar Prince, not shown, are represented at left. (United States Coast Guard via AP)

This June 2023 image provided by Pelagic Research Services shows remains of the Titan submersible on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. (Pelagic Research Services via AP)

One of Titan submersible owner's top officials to testify before the Coast Guard

One of Titan submersible owner's top officials to testify before the Coast Guard

MADRID (AP) — Kylian Mbappé extended his scoring streak with his sixth goal in five matches as Real Madrid defeated Alaves 3-2 to move closer to leader Barcelona in the Spanish league on Tuesday.

Mbappé's seventh goal since joining Madrid was a beauty, with the France forward starting a give-and-go with Jude Bellingham with a heal flick and then picking up the pass inside the area and using a nifty move to clear a defender before finding the net in the 40th minute at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Mbappé asked to be substituted in the 80th because of a muscle ailment, according to Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who said it was not serious.

Lucas Vázquez and Rodrygo also scored for Madrid, which extended its unbeaten run in the league to 39 matches — with 29 wins and 10 draws going back to last season. Alaves made a late charge by scoring with Carlos Benavídez in the 85th and Kike García in the 86th but couldn't find the equalizer despite chances in the final minutes.

“We played a great match for 80 minutes, but we suffered more than we should have in the end,” Vázquez said.

The victory moved Madrid within one point of league leader Barcelona, which will go for its seventh victory in a row to start the season when it hosts winless Getafe on Wednesday.

Mbappé now has seven goals in nine matches with Madrid in all competitions. He has five goals in the Spanish league, one behind leading scorer Robert Lewandowski of Barcelona.

The France star who signed as a free agent after leaving Paris Saint-Germain, also had a goal disallowed for offside in the 22nd. Arda Güler came in for Mbappé in the 80th.

Vázquez had put Madrid ahead one minute into the match with a shot from inside the area after a nice run by Vinícius Júnior through the left side of the area. Rodrygo added to the lead after a long run in the 48th.

Ancelotti, in his 300th match with the club, used most of his regular starters and did not immediately rotate his squad despite a congested schedule.

Vázquez started as a right back in place of regular starter Dani Carvajal, who was rested with fitness issues.

Teenage Brazil forward Endrick replaced Rodrygo in the 69th, his earliest appearance off the bench, and a couple of minutes later struck the post from inside the area.

Madrid complained about yellow cards to Vinícius, Federico Valverde and substitute Luka Modric for protesting in a match in which Madrid felt its players were often subjected to tough tackles.

“There is a different standard now and we have to adapt,” Ancelotti said. “We have to stop protesting.”

Alaves, whose players were not shown any cards, complained that a red card should have been given to Endrick after the Brazilian appeared to kick an opponent away from the play.

Madrid’s next match is the city derby against Atletico Madrid at Atletico’s Metropolitano stadium.

Sevilla midfielder Saúl Ñíguez was carried off the field on a stretcher with an apparent leg injury early in the second half of Sevilla's 2-1 home win over Valladolid.

Chidera Ejuke scored the winner in the 85th minute for Sevilla's second victory in its past three league matches.

Valladolid's only win this season came in its league opener against Espanyol.

Valencia followed up its first win of the season — 2-0 at Girona — with a 0-0 draw against Osasuna.

Osasuna had won two of its last three matches.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham runs during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Alaves at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior reacts during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Alaves at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's David Alaba, right, discusses with Alaves' Carlos Benavidez during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Alaves at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Alaves at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Lucas Vazquez, front, celebrates with Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior after scoring the opening goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Alaves at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Alaves at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Alaves at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Alaves at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Alaves at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scores a disallowed goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Alaves at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Alaves at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)