Deep End by Mark Ellis Harris

Deep End by Mark Ellis Harris

From the writer who's been covering OceanGate from the beginning, the astonishing story behind one of the most shocking disasters of the century.

In June 2023, OceanGate's experimental Titan submersible went missing on a dive to the wreck of the Titanic. People around the world were transfixed, waiting for word of the sub's passengers: its charismatic pilot, a legendary explorer, a billionaire businessman, and a father with his teenage son. Days later the horrifying news came: The sub had imploded, killing all five on board.

In Deep End, Mark Ellis Harris combines heart-stopping narrative and rigorous reporting to tell the full story for the first time: how millionaire Stockton Rush, the maverick CEO of OceanGate, shouldered his way into the competitive world of deep-sea exploration; how he wowed investors with the promise of carbon fibre subs to unlock the ocean depths for all; and how he prioritised thrift over safety, press over process, and ultimately glory over survival.

Deep End is an unforgettable tale of high-seas adventure, technological folly, and innovation gone wrong.

Mark Ellis Harris is an award-winning British journalist now based in Seattle. With a focus on science and technology, he has written about laser satellites, self-driving vehicles, AI body scanners and monkey-powered robots for outlets including Wired, The Guardian, The Economist, The Sunday Times, Tech Crunch and more.

Mark was first acquainted with the key players in this story when Stockton Rush, the former CEO and founder of OceanGate (who died in the implosion), invited him on a dive in one of his prototype submarines in 2015. Almost a decade later, his Wired feature on the OceanGate tragedy became the site's most-read article, establishing Mark as the go-to expert on the topic, leading to numerous media interviews and podcast appearances.