- A man who had his planned dive on the Titan sub canceled expressed relief, feeling like he narrowly avoided a dangerous situation.
- Arnie Weissmann, editor-in-chief of Travel Weekly, was scheduled to go on the dive in May, but it was called off due to unfavorable weather conditions.
- Weissmann, who knew three individuals who died on the sub, described experiencing “survivor’s guilt.”
A journalist who was scheduled to join the Titan sub’s dive expressed relief, describing his feeling of narrowly avoiding a dangerous situation and the subsequent “survivor’s guilt” due to his acquaintance with the three individuals who died when the sub imploded.
Arnie Weissmann, the editor-in-chief of Travel Weekly, participated as a guest on an OceanGate expedition to the Titanic in May.
He shared with Insider that he spent eight days on the support ship of the Titan, named Polar Prince, before the dive had to be canceled due to unfavorable weather conditions.
“Having been told that there was a dive window on two occasions when the weather turned bad, I feel extremely lucky to have avoided the potential danger,” Weissmann said. “However, this relief also evokes a sense of guilt as I had personal connections with the individuals involved. What turned out to be good fortune for me ended tragically for them.”
Weissmann noted that he had spent time with French diver PH Nargeolet and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush aboard the Polar Prince in the month before their fatal June expedition, which claimed the lives of all five individuals on board.
Prior to the dive, Weissmann was already acquainted with Hamish Harding, one of the deceased passengers, as they both were members of The Explorers Club, a professional society based in New York.
Weissmann disclosed that he had encountered Harding at a conference held by the club on an island off the coast of Portugal just days before Weissmann’s planned dive on the Titan sub.
“When we saw each other, he immediately asked me how the dive went,” Weissmann recounted. “He was aware that no one had dived yet that year, but was curious about the operation. I honestly shared with him many of the details that I reported in my articles, and despite raising his eyebrows in surprise, he did not express any major concerns.”
Weissmann mentioned that he had been contacted by Wendy Rush, the communications chief of OceanGate and wife of CEO Stockton Rush, in January. Subsequently, he was invited in April to learn about the company’s operations and join the dive.
Originally scheduled for June, Weissmann ended up choosing May due to a scheduling conflict. This would have been OceanGate’s first expedition to the Titanic in 2022.
“Some news publications have depicted it as me being incredibly lucky for not participating in that particular expedition,” Weissmann commented. “However, factually speaking, I might have faced more danger earlier in the year since it would have been the first dive. Timing played a role in my favor.”
An OceanGate representative informed Insider that the company is currently “unable to comment.”
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
