Deep End

From the writer who’s been covering OceanGate from the beginning, the astonishing story behind one of the most shocking disasters of the century.

In June 2023, OceanGate’s experimental Titan submersible went missing on a dive to the wreck of the Titanic. People around the world were transfixed, waiting for word of the sub’s passengers: its charismatic pilot, a legendary explorer, a billionaire businessman, and a father with his teenage son. Days later the horrifying news came: The sub had imploded, killing all five on board. In Deep End, Mark Ellis Harris combines heart-stopping narrative and rigorous reporting to tell the full story for the first time: how millionaire Stockton Rush, the maverick CEO of OceanGate, shouldered his way into the competitive world of deep-sea exploration; how he wowed investors with the promise of carbon-fiber subs to unlock the ocean depths for all; and how he prioritized thrift over safety, press over process, and ultimately glory over survival. Deep End is an unforgettable tale of high-seas adventure, technological folly, and innovation gone wrong.