The apparent success of the sale-leaseback agreement may explain how Rush was able to attract OceanGate’s largest-ever investment in 2020, at a time when the company was working on the costly task of replacing titaniumthe first hull to crack during testing. $18 million in capital funding allowed OceanGate to rebuild titanium and move forward with the first one Titanic expedition in 2021. Around this time, documents indicate that OceanGate may have had greater control in the foreclosed property of Cyclops 2 LLC.
By 2023, however, OceanGate’s financial situation appeared much more tough. Several witnesses present at the Coast Guard hearings testified that they believed it was OceanGate’s financial difficulties in the run-up to the final Titanic expedition, including Rush giving up his salary and occasionally lending the company money from his personal funds.
Demand: $250,000 Titanic the dives seemed to be coming to an end. Only in May 2023 one from OceanGate affiliate sellers advertised that summer trips still have “some very limited dates and 40 percent off locations.” This has not been reported before.
If the federal investigation results in any criminal charges, it will continue with the civil lawsuit that is currently pending in federal court in Washington state. A family of celebrities then Titanic is the discoverer Paul-Henri Nargeolet demanding $50 million for his death on board titaniumwhich named OceanGate, Rush’s estate, and a number of other people and companies associated with the ill-fated submarine as defendants. Representatives from Rush’s estate recently filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, stating: “As Rush’s employer, OceanGate is liable for Rush’s alleged negligence.”
Maritime lawyer Alton Hall is skeptical that Nargeolet’s family will be able to recover anywhere near the $50 million they are seeking. The 1920 Death on the High Seas Act generally limits damages to monetary losses, such as future earnings. The only exception would be Nargeolet and his companions titanium passengers OceanGate described as “mission specialists” who qualify as seafarers under another piece of legislation called the Jones Act. “There are literally books and books on who is and who is not a Jones Act seaman,” Hall says. Passengers who died on board titanium “They are not Jones Act mariners,” he says.
The unknown in these cases – and others that may be brought by the families of two billionaires who also died on titanium– this is a person who may face legal consequences. The civil case against the OceanGate estate and Rush also names as defendants OceanGate’s original chief engineering officer, Tony Nissen, and the three companies that produced titaniumhull and projection area. However, many witnesses present at the Coast Guard hearings testified that Stockton Rush had the final say in many commercial, engineering and operational decisions, and his company probably nearly went bankrupt. Ultimately, there may be little left to salvage from the OceanGate wreck.