Stockton Rush was on ‘predatory’ hunt for rich clients to join deadly dive: expert

OceanGate’s CEO Stockton Rush was on a “predatory” hunt looking for wealthy clientele to support his costly deepsea submersible trips to the Titanic, according to an industry expert.

Rush — who was one of five passengers killed when the vessel suffered a catastrophic implosion — could be incredibly persuasive when it came to his dangerous diving missions — even somehow convincing French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Patrick Lahey, president of Triton Submarines, told the Times.

“He could even convince someone who knew and understood the risks . . . it was really quite predatory,” Lahey, who was friends with Nargeolet, told the Times.

Lahey, whose company is a leading manufacturer and has been involved in the creation and testing of 60 human-rated submersibles, says he warned Nargeolet, 77, before he decided to join the doomed dive last week.

“I told him in very candid terms why he shouldn’t be out there. He understood. I believe PH thought in some way that by being out there he could help these guys avoid a tragedy but instead he ended up in the middle of one,” Lahey said.

“I told PH that going out there in some way sanctioned this operation. I said: ‘You’re becoming an ambassador for this thing; people look at you and your record and the life you lead and things you’ve done, which are extraordinary, and in some ways you are legitimizing what [OceanGate] are doing.”

Lahey had warned Nargeolet that the OceanGate CEO had previously brushed off safety concerns, going as far as calling the Titan a “monstrosity” built with outdated and unpredictable parts.

Lahey said he’s received messages from others he had warned against going on the OceanGate expedition, thanking him.

After hearing what happened to the vessel, “I sat here with my wife and daughter and we just wept and wept,” he said.

Others had echoed Lahey’s concerns, including Rob McCallum, a consultant for OceanGate, who told Rush he was putting the lives of his passengers at risk by not having his submersible certified by outside third parties.

Rush ultimately shot down the concerns, slamming safety warnings about the craft as “baseless cries” and a “personal insult.”

Also about the doomed submersible were British explorer Hamish Harding, 58, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Suleman, 19.