Who is Chris Brown? British explorer who backed out of Titanic expedition due to safety concerns

As the world wonders and questions what went wrong with the Titan submersible that left all the five passengers on board dead, a British man revealed why he pulled out of the Titanic expedition one last time. Chris Brown, a British explorer had reportedly decided to withdraw from the Titanic trip due, due to serious safety concerns. He had initially reserved a place on the OceanGate craft, which tragically went missing during a voyage to explore the shipwreck.

The Titan submersible lost communication with tour operators while approximately 435 miles south of St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. The vessel carried five passengers, including billionaire Hamish Harding. However, upon closer information of the vessel’s technology and construction materials, Brown changed his decision.

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Chris Brown was a close friend of Hamish Harding

Brown is a close friend of Hamish Harding, who was one of the five ill-fated passengers who lost their lives in the Titanic mishap. In the past, Brown has embarked on numerous voyages across the globe and during one such expedition he formed a friendship with Harding when they went to the South Pole.
Brown told Good Morning America that he was initially drawn to embarking on the expedition due to the historic and scientific possibilities.

"Being a modern-day adventurer interested in pushing the boundaries of our knowledge of places that people go... the Titanic is obviously an iconic wreck," he said. "It’s a chance for an expedition, an exploration and adding a bit of science into the situation."

What made Chris Brown change his mind?

The Sun reported that Brown was excited to go on the expedition, he even paid the deposit. However, his excitement was clouded by concerns when he saw that OceanGate, which was facilitating the trip, “cut too many corners”.

Brown questioned the technology and materials utilised in the construction of the submersible, ultimately feeling unconvinced of its overall safety. In his view, a commercial submersible of this magnitude should not compromise on the quality of its components.

Watch |Titan Submersible found in pieces after imploding in North Atlantic

According to the report, Mr Brown was shocked to find "old scaffolding poles" used for the submersible's ballast. "Its controls were based on computer game-style controllers," he said.

Such concerns led him to take action, promptly sending an email to the company requesting a refund of the $10,000 he had initially deposited as an advanced payment.

When confronted with the notion that he narrowly escaped a catastrophic accident, Brown expressed no sense of relief. Instead, he conveyed a deep sense of empathy for the mishap that could have been avoided.

In 2020, the CEO of OceanGate admitted to GeekWise that the hull of the submersible was showing signs of “fatigue”, one of the same technical issues the former employee from the lawsuit had warned about, as the company continued to test the craft, including with a 4000m deep dive in the Bahamas.

Also Read |Tributes pour in for men killed in ‘catastrophic implosion’ of Titan submersible

As a result, the company temporarily downgraded the Titanic submarine’s hull depth rating to 3,000m, 1,000 less than the Titanic’s depth, according to TechCrunch.

Last year as well, on a visit to the Titanic programme, a CBS News reporter watched as the submersible suffered a communications issue with the ship overseeing its voyage and was lost for nearly three hours underwater.

(With inputs from agencies)

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