OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush decided to sell deep-sea dives to the Titanic because 'it's such an iconic thing underwater'

• OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush once said he chose to sell trips the Titanic because it's "an iconic thing underwater."
• "I like to say, if you ask somebody what's underwater, they're going to say sharks, whales, and the Titanic," he told Insider in a 2020 interview.

Why did OceanGate choose to dive to the Titanic shipwreck? It's simple, CEO Stockton Rush told Insider years ago: Everyone knows about it.

"We really narrowed in on the Titanic because it's such an iconic thing underwater," Rush told Insider's Sophie-Claire Hoeller in a 2020 interview. "I like to say, if you ask somebody what's underwater, they're going to say sharks, whales, and the Titanic. It's such a huge, huge thing."

Rush went on to say that crewmembers on the Titan submersible need "a certain respect and honor" and to "make sure that what we do really does add value to the cumulative knowledge of not just the Titanic, but all shipwrecks."

The OceanGate CEO was one of five people who died when the Titan submersible imploded during a voyage to the Titanic shipwreck last month.

The Titan imploded less than two hours after it set out on the June 18 mission, authorities said, and it lost all communication with its mothership shortly before. US and Canadian officials are investigating how and why the submersible imploded.

The others killed on board were the French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, the British billionaire Hamish Harding, the British-Pakistani multimillionaire Shahzada Dawood, and Dawood's 19-year-old son, Suleman.

The Titan had made three previous trips down to the Titanic's wreckage. But shortly after the vessel vanished last month, questions began emerging about the design and operation of the Titan.

OceanGate, which operated the sub, was previously warned about some of these concerns, according to a lawsuit.

Rush also said in an interview in 2021 that he knew the company had "broken some rules" when building the vessel.

OceanGate posted a notice to its website saying it was suspending "all exploration and commercial operations" after the implosion. It's unclear when exactly the company made that decision; as Insider's Beatrice Nolan reported, it was still advertising trips down to the Titanic as of June 30 and had two missions listed for June 2024.

Insider reached out to OceanGate for comment.