Nat Barr stuns retired navy expert with blunt Titan query
Sunrise host Natalie Barr has weighed in on the missing Titan submersible, posing a question that appeared to take an experienced - and retired - US Navy submarine commander by surprise.
Barr was speaking to David Marquet about the vessel - which went missing in the North Atlantic with five passengers onboard and only 96 hours of life support - and its dangerous predicament.
Rescue teams have been racing against the clock and fighting difficult search conditions in a bid to locate the Titan submersible after it went missing on a journey to explore the sunken wreckage of the Titanic.
And while reports of banging from deep beneath the ocean’s surface have offered some a glimmer of hope - and others a sense of dread - the high-stakes situation has crews on edge, and left many wondering what had led to the decision to descend, for the Titan’s passengers and owners alike.
Reports have begun to circulate that the Titan had been plagued with safety concerns prior to this trip, and during former dives, and Barr sought more information from Marquet on that matter.
“We are still hearing all the things people are saying about why they should not have gone,” she said. “The passenger window was only certified to go half the depth that it went.
“Should they be there in the first place?”
The to-the-point question appeared to stun the ex-commander, who needed to take a moment before proceeding with his answer.
“They are adults, and they made a decision. It’s hard to question the judgement,” he said, before going on to note that the CEO of OceanGate - the company responsible for the missing vessel - had been one of the five people onboard, “so obviously he believes in the equipment.”
“Knowing what I know,” Marquet added, “what it takes to keep nuclear submarines running, you would not be finding me on that ship, but it’s easy after-the-fact to find criticism.”
He then shared that while he did have an appreciation for people who chose to push “the envelope in terms of exploring and innovation”, that “sometimes they push a little too far”.
The “still possible” search for the Titan continues, though the US Coast Guard have stated that it has less than 24 hours of available air remaining, and even if they are able to locate the submersible, massive challenges still lie ahead in retrieving it from the conditions so far below the surface.
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