Key takeaways:
- Jay Bloom, a wealthy financier, shared text messages he exchanged with the late CEO of OceanGate Exploration, Stockton Rush, who had offered discounted tickets to ride on the submersible.
- The dive was postponed due to weather delays, and Bloom declined the offer of discounted tickets.
- The submersible, named Titan, was piloted by Rush and was lost at sea on June 18th, sparking a debate about the safety of submersible tours.
A wealthy financier has shared text messages that he exchanged with the late CEO of OceanGate Exploration, a company offering tours of the Titanic on a submersible. The CEO, Stockton Rush, had offered the financier and his son discounted tickets to ride on the vessel, claiming it was safer than crossing the street.
The financier, Jay Bloom, initially planned to take two seats for himself and his son in May, but there were several weather delays and his son became nervous about the risks involved. In late April, Rush reduced the price of the tickets from $250,000 to $150,000 per person to ride the submersible on a trip scheduled for May. However, due to further weather delays, the dive was postponed until June 18th.
On Thursday, Bloom shared the text messages on Facebook, saying that Rush had defended the vessel as safer than scuba diving. Rush had also offered Bloom and his son discounted tickets to ride on the submersible, which Bloom had declined.
The submersible, named Titan, was piloted by Rush and was lost at sea on June 18th. The cause of the accident is still unknown, but an investigation is underway.
The tragedy has sparked a debate about the safety of submersible tours, with some questioning the wisdom of taking such a risk. Rush had previously defended the vessel as being safer than scuba diving, but the accident has raised questions about the safety of such tours.
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