Original OceanGate sub purchased by late CEO Stockton Rush – called the Antipodes – is up for sale for almost $800K but the broker does not think it will sell
- Yacht broker Steve Reoch has been trying to sell the Antipodes sub for years
- The original OceanGate sub was bought used by CEO Stockton Rush
- The submersible — which seats five people — is listed for sale at $795,000
- READ MORE: Titanic Five knew fate for minute before sub ‘popped like balloon’
An old OceanGate submersible is up for sale – but the broker who has been trying to unload it for years fears he’ll never be able to now following the catastrophic implosion of the Titan last month.
The 13 ½-foot vessel called Antipodes was the first submersible that was purchased by OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.
Rush was the pilot and one of the five who people who died during the Titan’s ill-fated journey thousands of feet below the ocean surface to see the Titanic wreck.
Steve Reoch, a yacht broker for the company, confirmed that old sub is listed for $795,000 and told Insider, ‘I don’t want to have anything to do with it.’
After OceanGate stopped ‘all exploration and commercial operations’ last week amid fallout from the Titan tragedy, Reoch told Insider that the Antipodes would likely be ‘tied up in litigation for years’ and probably never sell.
An old OceanGate submersible is up for sale – but the broker who has been trying to unload it for years fears he’ll never be able to following the implosion of the Titan last month
The 13 ½-foot vessel called Antipodes was the first submersible that was purchased by OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush
Steve Reoch, a yacht broker for OceanGate, said the sub is listed for $795,000, adding: ‘I don’t want to have anything to do with it’
The Antipodes vessel was owned by several people before OceanGate’s CEO bought it as his first submersible.
Reoch said that it had been on many successful trips including a shark-spotting expedition with rapper Macklemore as a passenger.
Rush later contacted Reoch about listing the vessel for sale when they company built their second submersible, the Cyclops.
In the five years the sub was for sale, OceanGate continued to use it. Any interest in the purchase fell through.
According to the listing, the Antipodes was built by Perry Submersibles in 1973 and can go 1,000 feet deep into the ocean on ‘deep-water expeditions’ to ‘access underwater environments.’
‘With six individual 5HP electric thrusters, Antipodes is highly maneuverable at depth and extremely comfortable for pilot and up to four crew,’ the website says.
It’s currently docked at OceanGate’s headquarters in Everett, Washington and listed for $795,000. But Reoch has said he will likely remove the post in a matter of weeks.
According to the listing, the Antipodes was built by Perry Submersibles in 1973 and can go 1,000ft deep into the ocean on ‘deep-water expeditions’ to ‘access underwater environments’
Submersible pilot Randy Holt, right, communicates with the support boat as he and Stockton Rush, left, CEO and Co-Founder of OceanGate, dive in the company’s submersible, “Antipodes,” about three miles off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., June 28, 2013
It’s currently docked at OceanGate’s headquarters in Everett, Washington and listed for $795,000. But Reoch has said he will likely remove the post in a matter of weeks
In the five years the sub was for sale, OceanGate continued to use it. Any interest in the purchase fell through
Reoch said that it had been on many successful trips including a shark-spotting expedition with rapper Macklemore (pictured) as a passenger
Reoch also pointed out a differece between the Antipodes the Titan, explaining that the original sub was classed by the American Bureau of Shipping.
This means it was checked to see if it met industry standards.
However, the Titan, which imploded on its way to see the Titanic wreck killing all five people on board, was not, he said.
Reoch said he doesn’t believe it matters to buyers ‘especially now because of the relationship with OceanGate.’
‘We’re in the process of disassociating ourselves from the vessel because it won’t sell,’ Reoch told Insider. ‘Nobody’s going to be able to sell the submersible for years because of litigation — it’s a waste of my time and has been for five years.’
Investigators believe the Titan imploded as it made its descent into deep North Atlantic waters on June 18.
The Coast Guard said last week that human remains have likely been recovered from the wreckage of the submersible and are being examined by medical officials.
Along with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Suleman Dawood, 19; British adventurer Hamish Harding, 58; and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, all died in the sub implosion
The company had charged passengers $250,000 each to participate in the voyage.
Investigators believe the Titan imploded as it made its descent into Atlantic waters on June 18
French Navy veteran PH Nargeolet (left) was on the sub along with Stockton Rush (right), CEO of the OceanGate Expedition
Five people had been on board, including British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding (left) and Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, who was just 19
OceanGate is based in Everett, Washington, and OceanGate Expeditions, a related company that led the Titan´s dives to the Titanic, is registered in the Bahamas.
At least 46 people successfully traveled on OceanGate’s submersible to the Titanic wreck site in 2021 and 2022, according to letters the company filed with a US District Court in Norfolk, Virginia, that oversees matters involving the Titanic shipwreck.
Until the June implosion of the Titan.
The multiday search and eventual recovery of debris from the 22-foot vessel captured attention around the world.
Legal experts have said they expect family members of those killed to file lawsuits not only against OceanGate, but also against the Titan’s maker and companies that provided parts.
Debris from the Titan sub, recovered from the ocean floor near the wreck of the Titanic, is unloaded from the ship Horizon Arctic in Newfoundland on June 28, 2023
But if OceanGate totally shuts down, that certainly reduces their options, said Richard Daynard, a distinguished professor at Northeastern University School of Law.
‘There’s essentially no chance of recovering damages’ from the company if it’s no longer operating, he said.
Additionally, the passengers were most likely asked to sign liability waivers . One of the waivers, signed by a person who planned to go on an OceanGate expedition, stated that passengers on the Titan could experience physical injury, disability, emotional trauma and death.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is conducting a safety investigation into the Titan’s Canadian-flagged mother ship, the Polar Prince.
Source: Read Full Article
