The unimportant news thread

[Spotted Horses]

A rock slide threatened to crush this Swiss village. It missed by just a few metres

There are disasters of that type that were man made, collapse of colliery spoil tips.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberfan_disaster

[Pohjolas Daughter]

There are disasters of that type that were man made, collapse of colliery spoil tips.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberfan_disaster

I remember reading about some of those. 

PD

[Spotted Horses]

Billionaires lost at sea.

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-us-canada-65953941

[Karl Henning]

Billionaires lost at sea.

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-us-canada-65953941

Maybe they're on Gilligan's Isle.

[Spotted Horses]

Maybe they're on Gilligan's Isle.

Probably they've become an appendix to the Titanic wreckage.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I feel for them--and their families.  From what I've read and heard, they sound like intelligent and forward-thinking and philanthropic people who loved to explore (thinking of Hamish Harding in particular re exploring).  I hope that they find them and in time.

The odds aren't very good though.  From what I understand, even if the vessel did make it back to the surface, it's:  small, and not easy to locate detect, and they can't open it from the inside.

PD

[Spotted Horses]

I feel for them--and their families.  From what I've read and heard, they sound like intelligent and forward-thinking and philanthropic people who loved to explore (thinking of Hamish Harding in particular re exploring).  I hope that they find them and in time.

The odds aren't very good though.  From what I understand, even if the vessel did make it back to the surface, it's:  small, and not easy to locate detect, and they can't open it from the inside.

PD

Yes, crammed into that claustrophobic cylinder must be one of the more unpleasant ways to meet your end.

I find it surprising that all of the news media is sticking to the narrative that the passengers are huddled in a disabled capsule, hoping to be rescued before their oxygen runs out. Yes, it could have suffered a mechanical failure and lost power. But there has been no mention of what I would consider the more likely scenario. It is extremely difficult to build a craft that can withstand the high pressure at the depth of the Titanic. There could have been a structural failure that would cause it to be crushed, or to flood. That strikes me as a quicker, more merciful way to go.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Yes, crammed into that claustrophobic cylinder must be one of the more unpleasant ways to meet your end.

I find it surprising that all of the news media is sticking to the narrative that the passengers are huddled in a disabled capsule, hoping to be rescued before their oxygen runs out. Yes, it could have suffered a mechanical failure and lost power. But there has been no mention of what I would consider the more likely scenario. It is extremely difficult to build a craft that can withstand the high pressure at the depth of the Titanic. There could have been a structural failure that would cause it to be crushed, or to flood. That strikes me as a quicker, more merciful way to go.

I thought of that initially too (re implosion).  At least one news outlet (BBC) reported also that back in 2018 one of the engineers brought up safety design issues and apparently was fired for doing so (leading to lawsuits in both directions before being settled out of court).

Good news is:  they've detected repeated banging sounds (every 30 minutes).  Hopefully the sounds are coming from the sub AND that they can find it and retrieve it in time.  There's still hope!

PD

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Just read some more background information about the development of the Titan and perhaps also some misinformation and/or misrepresentation of the facts (including things like how thick the hull was supposed to be, testing--what was or wasn't done and by whom).  It's on CNN's website.  https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/21/us/titan-sub-safety-oceangate-employees/index.html

Time is running out.

PD

[Karl Henning]

Probably they've become an appendix to the Titanic wreckage.

Titanic submersible CEO had spoken about worry of vessel not surfacing

[Spotted Horses]

Just read some more background information about the development of the Titan and perhaps also some misinformation and/or misrepresentation of the facts (including things like how thick the hull was supposed to be, testing--what was or wasn't done and by whom).  It's on CNN's website.  https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/21/us/titan-sub-safety-oceangate-employees/index.html

Time is running out.

PD

It is a one of a kind vehicle and by definition untested. For a manufactured product a prototype would be tested until it actually fails, and that information used to set a limit as to how much stress it can take. Then you know you have to take it out of service before it approaches that limit. They tested the actual ship multiple times to the design depth. They could have been a hairs width from failure and not known it, or the testing could have caused material fatigue that resulted in subsequent failure.

The guy in charge belongs in prison, except he's probably done for.

[Karl Henning]

Operation is still 'search-and-rescue mission,' official says — 1:18 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff

The search for the missing submersible in the North Atlantic is "100 percent" still a "search-and-rescue mission," said Captain Jamie Frederick, the First Coast Guard District response coordinator.

"When you're in the middle of a search-and-rescue case, you always have hope," Frederick said.

[Florestan]

Let's pray and/or hope they will be rescued.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

It is a one of a kind vehicle and by definition untested. For a manufactured product a prototype would be tested until it actually fails, and that information used to set a limit as to how much stress it can take. Then you know you have to take it out of service before it approaches that limit. They tested the actual ship multiple times to the design depth. They could have been a hairs width from failure and not known it, or the testing could have caused material fatigue that resulted in subsequent failure.

The guy in charge belongs in prison, except he's probably done for.

This is one of the bits of news that I found to be interesting from that CNN article (There are more there.):




2 former OceanGate employees voiced safety concerns years ago about the hull of the now-missing vessel

Celina Tebor
By Celina Tebor, CNN
Updated 11:16 AM EDT, Wed June 21, 2023





Deep-sea explorer breaks down what banging sound could mean
01:58 - Source: CNN
CNN
—
Two former OceanGate employees separately voiced similar safety concerns about the thickness of the now-missing Titan submersible's hull when they were employed by the company years ago, and a statement from a research lab appears to show conflicting information about the engineering and testing that went into the development of the vessel.

David Lochridge, the company's former director of marine operations, claimed in a court filing he was wrongfully terminated in 2018 for raising concerns about the safety and testing of the Titan, which vanished Sunday with five people on board during a trip to view the wreckage of the Titanic.

FILE - This undated photo provided by OceanGate Expeditions in June 2021 shows the company's Titan submersible. On Monday, June 19, 2023, a rescue operation was underway deep in the Atlantic Ocean in search of the technologically advanced submersible vessel carrying five people to document the wreckage of the Titanic, the iconic ocean liner that sank more than a century earlier. (OceanGate Expeditions via AP, File)
Search crews heard banging sounds while scouring the Atlantic for a manned submersible now running out of oxygen
Details about Lochridge and another former employee's concerns come as officials scour a swath of ocean about 900 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, racing to locate the submersible and rescue the crew inside. If the vessel is intact, they have a dwindling supply of oxygen, with perhaps less than a day of breathable air as of early Wednesday, based on a US Coast Guard officials' estimate.

Lochridge worked as an independent contractor for OceanGate in 2015, then as an employee between 2016 and 2018, according to court filings.

The company terminated his employment and sued Lochridge and his wife in 2018, claiming he shared confidential information, misappropriated trade secrets and used the company for immigration assistance then manufactured a reason to be fired. The lawsuit noted Lochridge is not an engineer, calling him a submersible pilot and a diver.

Lochridge said in a countersuit he was tasked by Stockton Rush – OceanGate's CEO, who is among the five onboard the Titan – to perform an inspection of the submersible.

Lochridge brought up concerns that no non-destructive testing had been performed on the Titan's hull to check for "delaminations, porosity and voids of sufficient adhesion of the glue being used due to the thickness of the hull," the suit says. When Lochridge raised the issue, it says, he was told no equipment existed to perform such a test.

The lawsuit was settled and dismissed in November 2018. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed, and Lochridge could not be reached for comment.

Court filings from the company indicate there was additional testing after Lochridge's time at OceanGate, and it's unclear whether any of his concerns were addressed as the vessel was developed.

Another former OceanGate employee who worked briefly for the company during the same time period as Lochridge had similar concerns, he said, speaking to CNN on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly.

The former employee became concerned when the carbon fiber hull of the Titan arrived, he said, echoing Lochridge's concerns about its thickness and adhesion in his conversation with CNN. The hull had only been built to five inches thick, he said, telling CNN company engineers told him they had expected it to be seven inches thick.

The former employee worked at the submersible company for two and a half months in 2017; he was an operations technician who assisted with towing submersibles out into the ocean and preparing them for the diving operation.

He said more concerns were raised by contractors and employees during his time at OceanGate, and Rush became defensive and shied away from answering questions during all-staff meetings. When the former employee raised concerns directly to Rush that OceanGate could potentially be violating a US law relating to Coast Guard inspections, the CEO outright dismissed them, the former employee said, and that's when he resigned.

CNN has reached out to OceanGate for comment.

OceanGate touted safety features of Titan in 2021 court filing
In a 2021 court filing, OceanGate's legal representative touted the specs and a hull monitoring system built into the Titan that he called "an unparalleled safety feature." The legal representative informed the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia – the court that oversees matters having to do with the Titanic – of the company's expedition plans at the time.

The filing lays out the Titan's testing details and its specifications, including that it had undergone more than 50 test dives and detailing its five-inch-thick carbon fiber and titanium hull.

The filing says OceanGate's vessel was the result of over eight years of work, including "detailed engineering and development work under a company issued $5 million contract to the University of Washington's Applied Physics Laboratory."

A file photo shows the RMS Titanic shipwreck from a viewport of an OceanGate Expeditions submersible.
Yes, Titanic tourism is a thing, and it's dangerous
But according to the University of Washington, the laboratory never dealt with design or engineering for OceanGate's Titan vessel.

The lab's expertise involved "only shallow water implementation," and "the Laboratory was not involved in the design, engineering or testing of the TITAN submersible used in the RMS TITANIC expedition," Kevin Williams, the executive director of UW's Applied Physics Laboratory, said in a statement to CNN.

PD

[Todd]

US approves chicken made from cultivated cells, the nation's first 'lab-grown' meat

This will revolutionize the McNugget market.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

US approves chicken made from cultivated cells, the nation's first 'lab-grown' meat

This will revolutionize the McNugget market.

I heard about the chicken this morning.

I haven't even tried things like fake beef substitutes.

PD

[Karl Henning]

I heard about the chicken this morning.

I haven't even tried things like fake beef substitutes.

PD

Nor me.

[BWV 1080]

US approves chicken made from cultivated cells, the nation's first 'lab-grown' meat

This will revolutionize the McNugget market.

Sort of stupid, $20/pound for chicken, which is already the most efficient grain + water to protein conversion - could not find the conversion ratio for this product

[DavidW]

I hope they find the submersible today.  I wouldn't want to die like that.  It was literally the first thing I did when I woke up was check the news.

In other news the search for Julian Sands started up again.  If you recall, he was lost when hiking around Mt. Baldy.  That was several months ago, I think it is clear that they are just searching for his body now.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Sort of stupid, $20/pound for chicken, which is already the most efficient grain + water to protein conversion - could not find the conversion ratio for this product

Wow!  That's expensive!  I imagine that they are hoping that they can get the cost down if/as(?) it catches on.

Just heard that Juliet won't fit on the US aircraft, so they've had to offload it and are now awaiting a different US aircraft.

Seems like there have been a number of unnecessary delays in terms of 1) Asking for help initially by OceanGate, and 2) Accepting outside help by companies like Magellan?  Lots of confusion as to who was asked when and what, if any, hoops they had to jump through to be able to help in the search.

Then there's the actual logistics to figure in--as in you can't suddenly get huge ships and equipment from Point A to Point B instantaneously.  Plus time to coordinate efforts, the distance from shore, etc., etc.

I'm sure that there will be lots of questions asked in the enquiry afterwards.  In the meantime, one can still hope.

PD