Tech Tycoon Bailed As Sub Passenger Over Safety

The Sun reports:

Chris Brown dropped out after becoming concerned by the quality of technology and materials used by OceanGate Expeditions. Multi-millionaire digital marketing tycoon Chris paid a deposit to join the dive at the same time as billionaire pal Hamish Harding — who is one of those missing.

Chris said he was concerned to learn that the craft was controlled by a gaming console-style device. The pilot uses a modified Logitech gaming controller — complete with twin thumbsticks and four colourful buttons, that allow the operator to manoeuvre the sub.

And Chris revealed further unease due to technical issues and delays, which left him questioning whether or not the firm was ­cutting corners. “Eventually I emailed them and said, ‘I’m no longer able to go on this thing’. I asked for a refund after being less than convinced.”

Read the full article.

At this writing, Brown is being interviewed on CNN.

I signed up to go on missing Titanic submarine but pulled out after questioning if crew were ‘cutting too many corners’ | The Sun https://t.co/KfVSZV66QR

— Dee Marie (@Peony459) June 21, 2023

This submersible does not have any kind of beacon like that. On my expedition last summer, they did indeed get lost for about 5 hours, and adding such a beacon was discussed…

— David Pogue (@Pogue) June 19, 2023

To be clear, I was not on the sub that day—I was on the ship at the surface, in the control room. They could still send short texts to the sub, but did not know where it was. It was quiet and very tense, and they shut off the ship’s internet to prevent us from tweeting.

— David Pogue (@Pogue) June 19, 2023