History repeats itself with an eerie comparison of RMS Titanic Captain Smith and Ocean Gate Titan Captain Stockton Rush.
Unsinkable?
When I think about Titanic, like many people, I think of the word ‘Unsinkable.’ This is by far the most ghastly word one could ever come up with and in my opinion it simply defined propaganda and advertising in the Victorian/Edwardian days.
It is not uncommon to think that the Edwardian Era was extremely blaze. Was this ship suggested as purely ‘Unsinkable’ or was it advertised in a way to make the Victorian/Edwardian people believe it to be? In already hard times, people of this era were not quick to question others as much as today; they strived for a sense of direction and closure.
White Star Line touted Titanic as the “Queen of the Ocean” and the “Finest Steamer Afloat.”
The wealthy wanted to travel in style and immigrants were desperate to escape and move to the New World.
“95% of the earth’s ocean is unexplored. You can change that. You can join an adventure of a lifetime.”
This is currently Ocean Gates website. I can’t help but acknowledge the similar circumstances which we have found ourselves in. We too have just come out of a few years of hard times as we have exited the pandemic and fully out of lockdown, people are longing for adventure and an escape.
“While there’s obviously risk it’s way safer than flying a helicopter or even scuba diving,”
Stockton Rush on safety.
It’s not just the time periods that seem to be quite akin.
Just like Captain Smith, Stockton had a reputation of sheer knowledge of sea travel- albeit through subs as opposed to ships.
“I cannot imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder. I cannot conceive of any vital disaster happening to this vessel. Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that.”
Captain Edward Smith, referring to Adriatic
Both men were influencing others with opinions and their substantial knowledge of not only how their vessels were safe, but also how unlikely they are to founder as modern shipbuilding had solved this issue. They both throughout their working career gained trust from their audience.
“There hasn’t been an injury in the commercial sub industry in over 35 years.”
Stockton Rush, in 2019 referring to Titan and showing his clear confidence of his invention.
“We’ve broken some rules with logic and engineering.”
Rush in a press interview, further planting the seed that he is a master in his field.
While Captain Smith may not have theoretically broken some rules, he did choose to ignore many ice warnings the night Titanic foundered. It is my opinion that he also felt he could bend the rules and not slow down even though he knew there were ice fields ahead. He was so focused on the modern engineering of the ship he thought it was logistically impossible for it to sink.
Both men heeded warnings of potential dangers and risks but continued to their path of no return.
‘By the time we’re done testing it, I believe it’s pretty much invulnerable,’
Stockton in an interview in 2017 during the test period of Titan.
Captain Edward John Smith also had a lot to say to make prospective passengers feel safe in the hands of his experience.
“I never saw a wreck and never have been wrecked, nor was I ever in any predicament that threatened to end in disaster.”
Captain Edward Smith in 1907
Here are fine examples of both Captains, with their sound expertise, suggesting that both vessels were practically impossible for a ship to sink due to modern technology and innovation.
“Tired of industry players who try to use a safety argument to stop innovation.”
Stockton in an email exchange with Mr Mccallum the founder of the deep-sea research and tour company EYOS Expeditions, consulted for OceanGate in 2009.
Mr McCallum implored him to slow down and focus on safety in “his race to titanic”
This leads me into yet another eerie comparison of the two captains- the trust element they received from many highly successful, respected and quite frankly wealthy people.
Captain Edward John Smith had a reputation of being a ‘Millionaires Captain.’ Passengers warmed to him and trusted him. Despite being hard and demanding with his crew, he was nicknamed ‘EJ’, rather than ‘Captain Smith.’ Was Captain Smith’s comments on modern technology another reason why people believed the ship to be Unsinkable?
He had such a reputation, to the point that many passengers only wanted to travel with “EJ” as captain on ships. In fact, they felt it a privilege to travel on the largest and grandest ship in the world in the hands of trusted Captain on his last maiden voyage before his retirement.
Once again, this is a stark similarity with the CEO of Ocean Gate. From our findings over the last week, we can see he was clearly targeting and getting trust from “billionaires/ millionaires” for years.
Going back to the Titanic on the day after the launch, we focus on another propaganda from the Irish news and Belfast morning news of June 1st 1911 highlighting the construction of the Titanic.
‘The captain can, by simply moving an electric switch, instantly close the doors throughout, practically making the vessel unsinkable.’
Notice the usage of language here. ‘Practically (making the vessel unsinkable).’ Did the readers even think about the misconstrued use of working; that it isn’t a hard fact that the vessel is unsinkable, or are they too transfixed by a ship having an electric switch to automatically close the doors without the need of man?
These headlines were circulating for a whole year to build up excitement at how very sophisticated and modern this ship is.
We can look back at Ocean Gates advertising and shiny videos to see how they too had built up a sense of excitement, perhaps a nonchalant attitude targeting wealthy people by saying if you have the money to spend come and see the Titanic Wreck. We have a 2 year wait list and it will only cost $250k, which is nothing if you want to experience a once in a lifetime mission. Oh and it’s really cool, we steer the sub with a $20 old PlayStation control.
I have personally concluded that history has completely repeated itself in a chilling way. Two well respected men heeding warnings, influencing powerful people that their ship/subs are safe, building up excitement to grab people’s attention.
There is one last thing I wanted to highlight as a comparison, should Titanic have not foundered, it would have remained the largest ship of the world for all of a few weeks.
The German liner Imperator was launched 5 weeks after Titanic’s sinking. Imperator was about 30 feet longer than Titanic. So here lies my question, was all of the advertising and false promises really worth it for the sake of five weeks of being on top? Was White Star Line becoming too greedy, too soon?
I’m curious to find out the competition behind Stockton Rush need to create missions this season despite bad weather, sending texts to push people to pay- some even last-minute cut prices, having a YouTuber with 13 million followers to ride for free in the hopes of more publicity for his subs.
Just like The White star line, was it all down to power, greed or hunger to win the race to impress.
Emily Keyes is a British business owner, writer and actor living in United States. She’s a passionate maritime history enthusiast and her interests lie within the Victorian and Edwardian era.
