Josh Gates Reveals the Real Reason He Walked Away from the Titan Submersible: A Battle Between Risk and Innovation
Josh Gates, the world-renowned adventurer and host of Discovery’s Expedition Unknown, sat down with Chris Cuomo this week to address a haunting “what if.” Long before the tragic implosion that claimed five lives, Gates was slated to film a special episode aboard the OceanGate Titan submersible. After a “shakedown dive” with CEO Stockton Rush, however, the veteran explorer made a rare decision: he walked away.Travel Shows & Entertainment
For a man who has built a career on entering dangerous environments—from ancient tombs to underwater shipwrecks—Gates’ refusal to board the Titan for its journey to the Titanic wreck serves as a sobering critique of the vessel’s controversial design.
A Vehicle Without a Benchmark
Gates traveled to OceanGate headquarters to put the Titan through its paces just months before it began taking its first season of passengers. While he described the experience of working with Stockton Rush as “thrilling,” he ultimately found the lack of data surrounding the sub’s construction to be a deal-breaker.
“The problem with Titan for me was that there’s really nothing to benchmark against,” Gates told Cuomo. “This is a vehicle that is a one-off. Every other sub that goes down to these depths has a titanium or steel alloy pressure sphere. Titan was built using carbon fiber.”
While Gates acknowledged that carbon fiber is a “miraculous material” used in aerospace giants like the Dreamliner, he highlighted the lethal unknowns of using it for deep-sea exploration. “There are a lot of mysteries about how this material performs at incredible pressure in terms of fatigue and incredibly cold temperatures,” Gates noted. “There just was no data to measure against.”
The “Cost-Benefit” of Discovery
When asked if risk isn’t simply the price of innovation—drawing comparisons to the Wright Brothers—Gates offered a nuanced perspective. While he defends the drive to explore, he drew a sharp line between professional explorers and the general public.
“Risk is part of the game. I think that future risks are required when innovating,” Gates admitted. “But we also have to think about the fact that there are passengers aboard. These are members of the public… I think there is a difference there.”
Despite his safety concerns, Gates was quick to reject the public criticism aimed at those who chose to take the trip. He praised the “courage, determination, and bravery” of the passengers, specifically honoring fellow Explorers Club member Hamish Harding and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, whose lives were lost in the disaster.
A Heartbreaking Loss
The interview was clearly an emotional one for Gates, who knew both Stockton Rush and Hamish Harding personally. “My heart is absolutely broken like everybody else,” he said.
However, Gates insists that while we honor the bravery of the fallen, the industry must face a reckoning regarding experimental design. “I think very soon we have to ask some real questions about the design and development of Titan,” he concluded. For Gates, the “Expedition Unknown” to the Titanic was a journey where the unknown variables simply outweighed the historical reward.
