Passengers on board the Titan submersible were classified as 'mission specialists' not 'passengers' to avoid legal jeopardy if they died, says report

• Passengers on board the Titan submersible were called "mission specialists."
• The word "passenger" was never used to avoid severe legal repercussions if anyone died.
• This is according to Rob McCallum, a former OceanGate advisor, who spoke to The New Yorker.

Paying customers on board the Titan submersible were not referred to as 'passengers' as part of a bid to avoid severe legal repercussions if anyone died, a former consultant to OceanGate claimed in an interview with The New Yorker.

Rob McCallum told the magazine that those on board were instead described as "mission specialists," with the New Yorker reporting that no one bought tickets but instead contributed a set amount of money to "fund their own missions."

Tourists reportedly paid $250,000 for a place on the vessel, which took them down to the wreck of the Titanic.

But "there were no passengers — the word 'passenger' was never used," McCallum said.

The former OceanGate consultant said in The New Yorker interview that it is illegal to transport passengers in an "unclassed, experimental submersible" under US regulations, but that companies face a lesser degree of legal jeopardy for killing crew.

"You do get in a little bit of trouble, in the eyes of the law," he told the magazine. "But, if you kill a passenger, you're in big trouble."

The Titan vessel imploded after setting off to visit the wreckage of the Titanic on June 18, killing all five people on board, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush. 

McCallum, who founded tour operator Eyos Expeditions, previously warned Rush in emails in 2018 that passengers were potentially being put in danger because the submersible hadn't been classed or certified by an independent agency.

According to the emails, which were seen by the BBC, Rush dismissed these concerns as a "serious personal insult" and an attempt to stifle innovation in the ocean expedition industry.

In an interview with Insider published on July 2, McCallum railed against OceanGate's approach to ocean engineering, calling it "ad hoc" and "ultimately inappropriate."

He also said that it is "incredibly sad" that a sector with an otherwise "impeccable" safety record was being tainted by a "home-built" sub, according to Insider's Jyoti Mann's report.

OceanGate did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.