Titan sub firm OceanGate hiring pilot after tragedy? Job ad explained

Social media posts have been going around blasting a job advertisement from the operator of the sub that imploded in the North Atlantic, suggesting it was published after the disaster in June 2023.

A screenshot of the job description was shared on June 24 by a Facebook page with more than 1.8 million followers.

The advert states an "immediate opening" for a submersible pilot and marine technician at OceanGate Expeditions, the operator of the Titan submersible that suffered a 'catastrophic implosion' on a dive to the Titanic wreck.

"Well it hasn’t even been one week...," reads the Facebook post — which has more than 1,900 shares — in an apparent reference to the disaster in which five people died, including OceanGate's CEO Stockton Rush.

However, the job ad wasn't posted after the tragedy. It was actually shared at least three years before the incident.

OceanGate told AFP it had suspended operations following the accident. Its website has been taken offline and remains down as of July 5, 2023.

The company has been facing mounting criticism, including allegations from Titanic director James Cameron that it ignored safety warnings. A voluntary industry body, the Manned Underwater Vehicles Committee, also said OceanGate was "not willing" to undergo a standard certification process for the Titan submersible.

Guillermo Soehnlein, who started OceanGate with Rush in 2009 before leaving the company in 2013, said his late friend was "extremely committed to safety".

Misrepresented ad

The job ad circulated widely on Twitter, TikTok and on Facebook pages around the world, including in the US, the Philippines and Australia.

Various news outlets also reported on the job ad, including Business Insider, TMZ and Seven News in Australia. The reports said it was "unclear" when the ad was first published.

However, some social media users appeared to believe OceanGate published the job description shortly after the implosion.

"Really distasteful but are we shocked?!" one Facebook user commented.

"They posted this job opportunity when they were carrying out the search for the missing sub," another wrote.

"What were they thinking, who pressed the button….. so many questions."

OceanGate operations 'suspended'

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