The waiver to board the Titan submersible, which imploded earlier this week and killed everyone on board, made no bones about the dangers associated with such a journey — and was so comprehensive it protects the vessel’s company from legal action.
OceanGate’s waiver, obtained by TMZ and used in a mission last year, repeatedly points to “the risk of bodily injury, disability, [and] death,” saying the company cannot be sued, even if negligent.
Noting that the vessel is “experimental” and “has not been approved or certified by any regulatory body,” the waiver points to many risks associated with the experience, including “extreme pressure” as well as “high-pressure gases, pure oxygen servicing, high-voltage electrical systems and other dangers.”
Perhaps most crucially, crew members were reportedly required to acknowledge that they “agree to defend, indemnify, save, and hold harmless OceanGate Expeditions, Ltd. … from any loss, liability, damage, or costs they may incur to due to any claim brought in violation of [the waiver].”
By Thursday, OceanGate said it believed the five men who boarded the vessel on Sunday to travel to the wreckage site of the Titanic “have sadly been lost.” The sub lost contact with land about an hour and 45 minutes into its trip and is presumed to have then suffered a “catastrophic implosion.”
Former “Simpsons” showrunner Mike Reiss, who previously traveled to the Titanic on one of four 10-hour dives with the company, spoke of the disconcerting elements — including the waiver’s frequent mentions of death.
“Every time they lost communication — that seems to be just something baked into the system,” Reiss told ABC News.