citizen_sleuth
Verified family member - Orie Donald Esh thread
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I did some digging into the regulations governing submersibles and from what I was able to find, there are multiple different classifications of submersibles specified by the Coast Guard, each with varying levels of regulation.RSBM
I don't think that classifying passengers as mission specialists/crew members necessarily has anything to do with safety standards, it is likely a way to communicate that passengers are engaged in the mission at some level, however basic. The submersible pilot, Paul-Henry Nargeoles, who was piloting the mission would have been in charge and very attuned to safety issues, IMO. He is a former diver for the French navy.
The Passenger Vessel Safety Act of 1993 (59 FR 792) introduced more stringent regulations of passenger vessels. Under the Act, a passenger is defined as follows (BBM):
(A) means an individual carried on the vessel except
(i) the owner or an individual representative of the owner or, in the case of a vessel under charter, an individual charterer or individual representative of the charterer;
(ii) the master; or
(iii) a member of the crew engaged in the business of the vessel who has not contributed consideration for carriage and who is paid for on board services
In this case, I think OceanGate is using subsection (iii) as a 'loophole' to allow them to classify Titan as an Uninspected Passenger Vessel (UPV) rather than a Small Passenger Vessel (SPV). Because the "mission specialists" take turns operating the equipment on board Titan, they are "engaged in the business of the vessel" and thus satisfy the first part of the passenger exemption under subsection (iii).
The second half of subsection (iii) specifies that to be considered a crew member, the person must not have "contributed consideration for carriage and who is paid for on board services." Since the "mission specialists" paid for the opportunity to go on the expedition, at first glance it appears they would not qualify for the crew member exception. However, the Act also amended the definition of "consideration" to allow for individuals to contribute to the operating costs of the vessel without being considered passengers:
(5a) ‘consideration’ means an economic benefit, inducement, right, or profit including pecuniary payment accruing to an individual, person, or entity, but not including a voluntary sharing of the actual expenses of the voyage, by monetary contribution or donation of fuel, food, beverage, or other supplies.
I suspect that OceanGate considers the $250,000 price tag to be a "mission specialist" as a "voluntary sharing of the actual expenses of the voyage" rather than a payment (which would make them passengers for hire and thus subject to SPV regulations), so given the fact that the "mission specialists" perform tasks while on board and are not "paying," they can operate Titan as a UPV and thus not subject to federal regulation. MOO.