A former OceanGate employee has revealed that staff at the company were asked to “forgo getting paid for periods of time” shortly before the tragic implosion of the Titan submersible in June 2023.
On June 18, 2023, the Titan submersible embarked on its final dive into the North Atlantic, resulting in the deaths of all five people on board. Among the deceased were OceanGate co-founder Stockton Rush, Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British-Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman, and British explorer Hamish Harding.
In the wake of the incident, the Coast Guard launched an investigation. During the probe, Phil Brooks, a former employee who served as an embedded Linux engineer and later became director of engineering at OceanGate, spoke out about the company’s financial woes. Brooks, who left the company in early 2023, stated that he and other employees were asked to forgo their salaries with a promise that they would receive back pay in the new year.
“I don’t know if you heard, but there were economic issues with the company asking us to forgo getting paid for periods of time with the promise that they would get us caught up in paychecks after the first of the year,” Brooks said. “They asked for volunteers. I don’t think anybody did it, but it was clear that the company was economically very stressed.”
Brooks expressed concerns that financial struggles were impacting safety protocols, saying, “The safety was being compromised way too much, at least for myself.” He noted that working on the unstable ocean platform posed significant risks. “At my age, working on a bobbing platform was too dangerous and not something that I wanted to do,” he added.
Safety Concerns Overruled by Financial Pressures, Ex-Employee Claims
Brooks also disclosed how OceanGate opted to switch from using the vessel Horizon Arctic to the Polar Prince, which would tow the Titan submersible. “The main thing was the decision had been made to not use the Horizon Arctic [but] to use the Polar Prince and to tow the sub behind the Polar Prince,” he said.
He described the harsh working conditions on the ship in 2021 and 2022, explaining that the team faced “constant work, almost 24/7” to keep the submersible operational. “The seas are 1- to 5-meter seas, and the platform bobs up and down, and I just did not see that I could do that,” he said.
Brooks voiced his concerns about the safety risks to his staff, stating, “I did not feel right that my staff would be required to do that.” He raised these issues with OceanGate’s Chief Operating Officer Bob Shuman, suggesting that they halt the mission due to the dangers involved. However, his concerns were dismissed due to financial pressures. “The reasons were economic reasons. I suggested that they not go, that it was just not a workable solution.”
Ultimately, Brooks decided to leave OceanGate, citing the extreme safety risks associated with working on the Titan. “It was just too dangerous,” he concluded.
