A famed deep sea explorer and former Navy officer says OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush ignored all warnings about his Titanic sub, but no one could stop him because 'there's no international police force on the high seas'

• A famed deep sea explorer said the entire submersible industry warned Stockton Rush about the Titan.
• But no one could stop him because OceanGate was operating in international waters, he said.
• Rush believed he "was going to be the Elon Musk of the ocean," Victor Vescovo told Outside Online.

A former naval officer known for exploring some of the ocean's most treacherous depths said the submersible industry "as a whole" warned Stockton Rush about his Titanic-touring vessel. But no one could stop the OceanGate CEO because he operated in international waters.

"Stockton thought he was going to be the Elon Musk of the ocean," Victor Vescovo, a retired Navy intelligence officer who now manages a hedge fund, told outdoors magazine Outside Online.

"And he ignored not just a warning here and there, but the industry as a whole was saying: 'Dude, you need to stop doing this,'" Vescovo told the outlet. "People keep asking me: 'Why didn't you stop him?' Because there's no international police force on the high seas. You can do whatever you want."

Vescovo, who in 2018 became the first person to reach the deepest point of the Atlantic Ocean, was one of several deep-diving explorers who refused to endorse Rush's trips to the Titanic, The New Yorker reported.

"I didn't even want the appearance that I was sanctioning his operation," Vescovo said, per the outlet.

OceanGate built a five-man submersible called the Titan out of carbon fiber and titanium — an atypical and unproven mix of materials for withstanding undersea pressure. Using the Titan, Rush ran tours to the Titanic's shipwreck, some 13,000 feet underwater.

Emerging reports continue to document how he ignored the admonishment of submersible experts and seasoned adventurers like Vescovo, who were deeply troubled by the Titan's safety standards and the fact that it was never classed to venture into deep waters.

At least one senior employee at OceanGate, submarine pilot David Lochridge, warned Rush in 2018 about the safety system designed around the Titan's hull, saying it could only detect a breach "milliseconds" from disaster. 

However, Lochridge said in a lawsuit that he was immediately fired upon filing his report. According to The New Yorker, he shared the report with OSHA, which in turn referred his warnings to the US Coast Guard.

The US Coast Guard did not respond to Insider's request for comment on Lochridge's report and if it took any steps in response to his warning.

While Rush manufactured at least part of the Titan at a Seattle workshop, OceanGate's Titanic tours were held outside of US jurisdiction anyway.

Stefan B. Williams, a professor at the Australian Centre for Field Robotics at the University of Sydney, told Insider's Tom Porter and Marianne Guenot that OceanGate was able to avoid strict safety restrictions by operating in international waters.

While Rush has been recorded brushing aside expert warnings about the Titan for years, the CEO has been defended by his colleagues and close friends, who described him as an ambitious but caring man who prioritized safety.

The Titan went missing on June 18, and is believed to have imploded as rescuers found the vessel's debris on the ocean floor. All five passengers, including Rush, were declared dead.