OceanGate co-founder says Titan built from scratch because no one else could meet needs

The co-founder of the company that owned the experimental submersible that imploded en route to the wreckage of the Titanic said the company zeroed in carbon fiber for the doomed vessel because the company wanted a lightweight, less costly submersible that didn’t need to be tethered to an expensive mother ship. Businessman Guillermo Sohnlein, who helped found OceanGate with Stockton Rush, said no existing sub builders could meet the company’s requirements, necessitating the pivot to building their own subs. He described the use of carbon fiber as “not a novel idea.” Rush was among the five people who died when the submersible imploded in June 2023.