OceanGate Inc. The company acquired a submersible vessel, Antipodes , and later built two of its own: Cyclops 1 and Titan. In , OceanGate began taking paying tourists in Titan to visit the wreck of the Titanic. On June 18, , Titan imploded during a voyage to the Titanic wreck site, killing all five occupants on board, including Rush.
On June 21, it was announced that OceanGate's Everett office was closed indefinitely, and on July 6, OceanGate suspended all operations. Stockton Rush had an interest in aviation and space travel as a child, and obtained a commercial pilot's license when he was 18 years old. Rush built a fortune by investing his inheritance in technological businesses and decided to purchase a submarine, but discovered that he was unable to, as there were fewer than privately owned submarines worldwide.
Rush believed that undersea exploration was an underserved market, due to, in his opinion, an unwarranted reputation of submersibles as dangerous vehicles. He criticized the Passenger Vessel Safety Act of as "needlessly prioritiz[ing] passenger safety over commercial innovation". Rush commissioned a marketing study that concluded there was sufficient demand for underwater ocean tourism.
In he told Sky News , "The whole intent was to create a small fleet of work submersibles. And in that way, as our tagline was in the early days, 'Open the oceans for all of humanity. The company's first submersible was Antipodes , a used 5-person vessel with a steel hull. Between and the company performed an estimated dives with Antipodes. The company's business model involved renting out its submersible to researchers, and taking touristsβwhom the company referred to as "citizen scientists"βon underwater excursions.
OceanGate's first tourist excursion was conducted in when the company began transporting paying customers. The company took tourist groups to Catalina Island off the coast of California. To improve the experience, the company began bringing expert guides aboard the dives. According to Rush, "People would ask me about a fish, and I wouldn't know anything about it. Their excitement permeated the sub. In OceanGate worked with the University of Washington for the first time.
