CNN —The company that built and operated the Titan submersible asked employees to forego their pay as it faced economic challenges, according to former employees testifying before the US Coast Guard panel probing the vessel’s deadly implosion last year.
OceanGate employees were asked to “defer our paychecks” at the start of 2023, Amber Bay, the company’s former director of administration, said Tuesday as part of a two-week hearing before the Marine Board of Investigation – the highest level of Coast Guard inquiry.
The board is reviewing the cause of the June 2023 implosion during the submersible’s dive to the Titanic, which claimed the life of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and four others.
Members of the Coast Guard's Titan Submersible Marine Board of Investigation listen during the hearing inside the Charleston County Council Chambers on September 23, 2024, in North Charleston, South Carolina.
Lochridge raised safety concerns about the company’s operations, he testified, saying he had “no confidence whatsoever” in how the Titan was built.
Persons:
“, Amber Bay, ”, Rush, Phil Brooks, OceanGate’s, Brooks, Laura Bilson, OceanGate, Shahzada Dawood, Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, Paul, Henri Nargeolet, David Lochridge, Lochridge, ” Lochridge, CNN’s Ray Sanchez
Organizations:
CNN, Titan, US Coast Guard, Marine Board, Investigation, Coast Guard, Stockton Rush, Everett, Marine, Chambers, NTSB
Locations:
Amber, ” Bay, Stockton, Washington, paychecks, OceanGate, Charleston County, North Charleston , South Carolina, Rush