OceanGate submersible offered for sale
- The Antipodes is certified as meeting industry safety standards
- The submersible has been on the market for five years
- OceanGate shut down operations after the implosion of the Titan
FILE – This photo provided by OceanGate Expeditions shows a submersible vessel named Titan used to visit the wreckage site of the Titanic. The wrecks of the Titanic and the Titan sit on the ocean floor, separated by 1,600 feet (490 meters) and 111 years of history. How they came together unfolded over an intense week that raised temporary hopes and left lingering questions. (OceanGate Expeditions via AP, File)
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(NewsNation) — An OceanGate submersible is listed for sale at a price of nearly $800,000 and the broker who’s been trying to sell it for five years wants nothing to do with it.
Yacht broker Steve Reoch has been trying to sell the $795,000 submersible for years and told Insider he no longer wants anything to do with the company.
OceanGate found itself in the spotlight after the Titan submersible imploded on a dive to the Titanic, carrying five people aboard. Authorities launched a massive rescue mission before locating a debris field and determining the sub had suffered a catastrophic failure, killing all those on board.
Like the Titan, the Antipodes seats five people, but the similarities end there. Antipodes was originally built for Perry Submersibles and was owned by several others before being sold to OceanGate. It’s able to dive to a depth of 1,000 feet, as compared to the nearly 13,000 feet needed to reach the wreck of the Titanic.
Unlike the Titan, the Antipodes is classed as a submersible vessel by the American Bureau of Shipping, which means it has been certified as meeting industry standards.
OceanGate listed the submersible for sale after the company built its own submersible, the Cyclops 1, which was a prototype for the Titan.
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who died in the implosion, had been openly critical of safety regulations. Experts had raised safety concerns about his vessels, which were not certified and were constructed using methods and materials not typically used in submersibles.
OceanGate shut down operations following the Titan disaster. Reoch said he thinks it is unlikely he will ever be able to sell the Antipodes.