MORNING NEWSBREAK | Former employees of the company OceanGate said during a Monday U.S. Coast Guard hearing in North Charleston that they worried about the company’s practices long before a fatal 2023 implosion of the Titan submersible that killed five people.
Tony Nissen, former engineering director of the Titan submersible, revealed a friction between him and Stockton Rush, OceanGate’s co-founder and one of the five victims. The differences eventually led to Nissen’s firing after he reportedly refused to sign off and pilot manned expeditions aboard the craft to the sunken Titanic ocean liner.
“He would fight for what he wanted. What he wanted,” Nissen testified during the hearing in a story that made national headlines. “He wouldn’t give an inch much at all. Most people would just eventually back down from Stockton. It was death by 1,000 cuts.”
Nissen further testified the Titan did not go through proper testing before the June 2023 expedition. The Titan experienced dozens of problems during previous expeditions, including 70 equipment issues in 2021 and 48 more in 2022, according to investigators.
Bonnie Carl, OceanGate’s HR director, told investigators she often observed teenagers and young engineers working on the submersible without supervision and was not aware if the company tracked workplace injuries or took other steps to monitor safety. Two dozen witnesses are expected to testify before the Coast Guard board over the next two weeks.
In other news headlines today:
CP FOOD: City Paper’s 2024 Burger Throwdown voting now open. Now through Oct. 2, the Charleston City Paper encourages you to vote in its 2024 Burger Throwdown to crown the King of Burgers in six categories from participating Charleston-area eateries.
Doctors encourage Lowcountry residents to get latest Covid-19 vaccine as cases surge. Doctors at the Medical University of South Carolina are urging people to receive the newest Covid-19 vaccinations as they continue to see elevated rates of the virus in the Lowcountry.
North Charleston police report decline in violent and non-violent crimes. The North Charleston Police Department says they have seen a 13% decrease in violent crime and a 14% decrease in non-violent crime since last year.
- North Charleston announces six finalists for new police chief
- North Charleston Harvest Festival set to return in November
Charleston’s retail foot traffic steps up the pace, report says. More than 3 million shoppers and browsers visited the King Street retail district this summer, with Mount Pleasant Towne Centre and Tanger Outlets in North Charleston, respectively, reporting their second- and third-highest foot traffic levels ever, according to a new retail report from a commercial real estate firm.
Haley launching weekly SiriusXM talk show until January. Former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley, a recent Republican presidential candidate, will do interviews, take listener calls and talk politics on the show, which will be carried Wednesdays from 8 to 9 a.m. ET on SiriusXM’s Triumph channel.
S.C. gas prices fall nearly 12 cents in past week. As of Monday, the average price per gallon is $2.70 statewide, 37 cents lower than one month ago and 69.9 cents lower than one year ago, according to GasBuddy’s weekly survey.
Lowcountry AT&T strikes come to an end. After 30 days, thousands of AT&T workers across the southeast are back on the job Monday after union leaders and company management reached a tentative agreement.
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