Over the past week the world watched the unfolding of a huge mission to try to rescue unfortunate people who went on a sightseeing adventure in Titan, a submersible, to view the wreck of Titanic.
People were gripped at the drama. Were the victims trapped 3.5 miles below the surface, in a vehicle they could no longer operate or communicate with people on board a ship on the surface? Millions hoped that somehow their craft would be discovered before oxygen ran out.
I am sure I am not alone hoping that the submersible had suffered some catastrophic event which meant they died instantly, rather than suffering hours of absolute fear, hoping that they would be discovered in time, and probably fearing in their hearts the inevitable, that they would not.
Wreckage discovered some distance from Titanic showed the submersible had suffered a catastrophic implosion, which happened on its descent, and the five would have died in milli-seconds. Thankfully, the only good thing to come from this tragedy is the five would not have known anything and would not have suffered.
But I also think that it is disgusting that the super-rich are prepared to spend 200,000 pounds each to go on a sightseeing trip to get a glimpse of where more around 1,500 people lost their lives a century ago. It’s even more of an abomination that there are billionaires, not content with the money they already have, that they have to dream up some tourist “attraction” to make even more money, and especially to something so emotionally sensitive as the Titanic wreck.
They used their huge wealth to get around the law or use an experimental vehicle which had not undergone extensive independent testing. Apparently, people who worked on Titan were concerned at its safety, and the law could not touch the Titanic tourism because it was operating in international waters.
US court documents show a former employee of OceanGate, the billionaire-backed company operating Titan, warned of potential safety problems with the vessel as far back as 2018.
The documents show that David Lochridge, the company’s director of marine operations, raised concerns in an inspection report.
Typically, a spokesman for OceanGate declined to comment on the safety issues raised by Mr Lochridge and other safety concerns.
Ironically some people were concerned at the safety of Titanic before it set sail, so there are parallels between the two disasters, money before safety.
The other sickening parallel is that it was the super-rich on board Titanic who were allowed onto the few lifeboats available, while those in 3rd class where kept locked below for hours.
Today, billionaires, not content with their ocean-going cabin cruisers, luxury homes all over the world, businesses they view as playthings, and “enjoying” every luxury in life, are still not content and look for more thrills.
They give little if any thought that any search and rescue operation, carried out by several ships and aircraft because of its very nature, puts more lives at risk.
Adventure tourism is on the increase – apparently there are more people climbing Everest than ever before. Super rich tourists want to take flights into space, while others want to explore the most dangerous underground tunnels. Rescuers are put at risk if something goes wrong. Is it time to tell “rich adventure tourists” that they will not have millions spent on their rescue if something goes wrong?
The human race has always had its explorers – way back in time they were prepared to head off on ocean voyages of discovery, not knowing whether they would fall off the edge of the world.
Thousands of people were involved in the search and rescue attempt to try to save the lives of the five super-rich in Titan. This must have cost millions. Now compare that to the paltry efforts to save the lives of more than 600 would-be illegal immigrants trying to cross the Mediterranean. It makes me think what a sad and sick human race we still are. If you are super rich you are worth saving, if you are poor, you’re not. True on the Titanic, true today too.
I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would want to spend 200,000 pounds to see the Titanic on a tourist sightseeing trip, or half a million to fly into space.
I hope this tragedy will make at least some super rich to take stock of their lives. Just think – if the 100 richest people in the UK were to donate just half of their huge wealth, the NHS could go much of the way to be put back on it’s feet, or doctors and nurses could get the pay rises they so justly deserve, or councils could be given a cash handout to rectify some of the list of social things which need sorting – from social care to the endless potholes in the roads, better State education and more bobbies on the beat, etc. etc.
Back in Victorian times, benefactors donated vast sums to help society, but now greed has taken root in such an entrenched way that billionaires are prepared to spend vast sums on something so ridiculous as totally unnecessary as sick sightseeing trips.
I hope some good comes out of the Titan tragedy – firstly that more controls are introduced to put safety first rather than money, and secondly that the super-rich find some far more useful and beneficial way of spending their vast wealth.
By Tony Mayes
