OceanGate co-founder hopes tragedy yields renewed interest in sea exploration

The remains of the Titan submersible on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean (Pelagic Research Services/AP)

The co-founder of the company that owned the experimental submersible that imploded en-route to the wreckage of the Titanic told a US Coast Guard panel that he hoped that the silver lining of the disaster will inspire a renewed interest in exploration, including the deepest waters of the world’s oceans.

“This can’t be the end of deep ocean exploration. This can’t be the end of deep-diving submersibles and I don’t believe that it will be,” said businessman Guillermo Sohnlein, who helped found OceanGate with Stockton Rush.