OceanGate Expeditions, the private company behind the epic Titanic submarine tragedy sunset its official website amid backlash over questionable safety features of the missing submersible.
OceanGate website shuts down: Here are the latest updates
The last we heard from OceanGate was in a statement released on Thursday evening, where the company acknowledged that the crew aboard the submersible died four days after they plummeted on a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ tour to the Titanic wreckage, which, by the way, is located more than 3 800m below sea level.
The passengers onboard the OceanGate submersible were: CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding and Paul Henri-Nargeolet.
“These men weret true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans. Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew,” the company tweeted.
At the time this article was published, a visit to OceanGate’s website pulled an Error 525, which points to an issue with the SSL connection on the origin server.
This error occurs when the SSL/TLS certificate on the web server is not properly configured or there is an issue with the SSL/TLS protocol.
When a user visits a website secured with SSL/TLS (indicated by “https” in the URL), their browser initiates an SSL handshake with the server to establish a secure connection.
During this handshake process, the browser verifies the server’s SSL certificate to ensure the authenticity and integrity of the connection.
Error 525 typically occurs in the following scenarios:
- Invalid or self-signed SSL certificate: If the SSL certificate presented by the server is invalid, self-signed, or not issued by a trusted certificate authority (CA), the browser will not be able to establish a secure connection and will display Error 525.
- Mismatched SSL certificate: If the common name (CN) or subject alternative name (SAN) in the SSL certificate does not match the domain name that the user is trying to access, the browser will raise an SSL handshake failure and display Error 525.
- SSL/TLS protocol issues: In some cases, compatibility issues between the browser and the server’s SSL/TLS protocol settings can lead to an SSL handshake failure and trigger Error 525.
It remains unclear what the true nature of the website shutdown is but the irony of the timing is surely not lost.
Titanic submarine was flagged as unsafe months before tragedy
As the tale of the Titanic submarine tragedy unravels, more shocking information has surfaced on a recent lawsuit OceanGate faced over — get this — safety features of the submersible that’s since gone missing.
Legal documents obtained by The New Republic revealed that an employee of OceanGate, the parent company of the tourist submersible that went missing during a Titanic wreck exploration, had previously raised safety concerns about the sub.
The employee, David Lochridge, voiced doubts about the sub’s ability to descend to extreme depths before he was terminated. Lochridge claimed that OceanGate ignored his concerns, leading to his termination and subsequent legal action.
Lochridge alleged that the submersible had flaws that could compromise passenger safety and criticized the lack of non-destructive testing on the hull.
According to the documents, Lochridge conducted a quality inspection of the submersible and discovered that the viewport, crucial for passenger safety, was certified for a depth of only 1 300 meters, whereas OceanGate intended to reach depths of 4 000 meters.
OceanGate refused to invest in a viewport that met the required depth standards.
Lochridge expressed concerns about the submersible’s safety and the use of hazardous materials, but his complaints were allegedly ignored by OceanGate, resulting in his dismissal. The case between Lochridge and OceanGate was eventually settled.
These legal documents highlight the existence of safety complaints raised by Lochridge, an OceanGate employee, regarding the tourist submersible that went missing during a Titanic wreck exploration.
Lochridge alleged flaws in the submersible’s design and the company’s failure to address safety concerns adequately. The viewport, in particular, was found to be certified for a shallower depth than intended, potentially jeopardizing passenger safety.
Lochridge’s claims of negligence and wrongful termination shed light on the controversy surrounding the submersible’s safety and the subsequent legal dispute between Lochridge and OceanGate.