By now the world knows of the disaster with the sub on it’s way to the Titanic wreck…..but did you know that the 19 year old went along so he could go viral upon his return?
Christine and Alina Dawood, the wife and daughter of Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood, who died on the Titan submersible along with his 19-year-old son, Suleman, weren’t far from their loved ones when they perished last week in the vessel’s “catastrophic implosion.” The grieving mom tells the BBC that she and her daughter boarded the Polar Prince support ship with the two doomed men, and that the family hugged and joked before the Titan made its descent to the bottom of the ocean. “I was really happy for them because both of them, they really wanted to do that for a very long time,” she says.
Dawood notes that her son even brought a Rubik’s Cube with him into the submersible, in the hopes of making his way into the Guinness World Records. “He said, ‘I’m going to solve the Rubik’s Cube 3,700 meters below [the] sea at the Titanic,'” she recalls him saying, noting that her husband had brought along a camera so he could record the event. Dawood says she’d originally been the one who was supposed to go see the Titanic wreck with her husband, but that trip was nixed because of the pandemic. When it came time to reschedule, she decided to give up her seat to Suleman, “because he really wanted to go.”
All the news about what has happened but there has been few asking the question…..who should pay for this foolhardy endeavor?
When millionaire Steve Fossett’s plane went missing over the Nevada range in 2007, the swashbuckling adventurer had already been the subject of two prior emergency rescue operations thousands of miles apart.
And that prompted a prickly question: After a sweeping search for the wealthy risktaker ended, who should foot the bill?
In recent days, the massive hunt for a submersible vehicle lost during a north Atlantic descent to explore the wreckage of the Titanic has refocused attention on that conundrum. And with rescuers and the public fixated first on saving and then on mourning those aboard, it has again made for uneasy conversation.
“Five people have just lost their lives and to start talking about insurance, all the rescue efforts and the cost can seem pretty heartless — but the thing is, at the end of the day, there are costs,” said Arun Upneja, dean of Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration and a researcher on tourism.
“There are many people who are going to say, ‘Why should the society spend money on the rescue effort if (these people) are wealthy enough to be able to … engage in these risky activities?’”
Personally I think they family/estate should pay for the massive search efforts….the people make the decision to attempt something dangerous then the family should be prepared to foot the rescue/recovery operation.
I have no time for the attitude….do it because it is there.
Let your thoughts be known.
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
The designers of the vehicle arfe responsible and should be held liable–they circumvented safety for the sake of profits and now they should pay — not the families of the victims.
I agree the company is responsible…. but these glory hogs need to be reined in….chuq
They need to be regulated but they also need to be encouraged because from exploration comes progress.
This was not exploration it was a sight seeing trip……I agree that regulation is needed. chuq
You and I are going to change nothing.
Maybe not but I refuse to stop writing and talking….you can either listen or read or go to social media and get caught up with the latest fads. chuq
What you mean to say, I think, is that I can go to social media and get caught up in the latest bullshit — and as to listening and reading, you know that I am going to read you as long as I can see and think. Today’s social media is designed for fairies, malcontents, lazy asses and angry minorities …
A fair observation about social media. chuq
without the attitude of “Do it because it is there” you and I would be living in some other geo location because America may never have been discovered –and invaded —
It is an excuse for bad decisions. chuq
It is the motivator to bigger and better things. Ask Chuck Yeager or Neil Young.
Yeager was a test pilot it was his job….Neil Young was a musician…none of the people were on this trip for anything noble bit rather money to burn and wanted to make a place on youtube. chuq
cynicism is a beautiful thing…isn’t it?
Would not know chuq
I would hold the company responsible, despite the passengers signing a disclaimer. The boy was obviously not the ‘full ticket’, as he had already contacted Guinness to try to claim a world record for Rubik Cube solving at depth. That should have been a red flag, for including him.
If the company has to pay, it will hopefully go bust, and threaten no more lives.
Best wishes, Pete.
Pete I feel someone will try this crap again in the future….profit always make for bad decisions. chuq
And, I just heard that a 70-year old Billionaire crashed and died while driving a racecar! Instead of having these people simply sign a waiver of liability, make it mandatory to set-up an account for any clean-up, rescue, whatever.
Good idea….I will support that as a plan. chuq
Absolutely the company is responsible! Individual responsibility when putting yourself in such a situation!
I totally agree…..chuq