Who is Stockton Rush and when did he go missing?
Olivia House
Published Aug 23, 2026
STOCKTON RUSH is the CEO of OceanGate - a private company that chartered a trip to explore the Titanic wreckage on June 18, 2023.
On that same day, Rush, along with four other passengers and crew did not return from their expedition and a search had been set in place.
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Who is Stockton Rush?
Stockton Rush is the CEO of OceanGate Inc., which he founded back in 2009. He has also been the co-founder and member of the Board of Trustees of OceanGate Foundation since 2012.
According to the company's website: "Rush oversees OceanGate’s financial and engineering strategies and provides a clear vision for the development of 4,000 meter (13,123 feet) and 6,000 meter (19,685 feet) capable crewed submersibles and their partner launch and recovery platforms which make OceanGate Inc the leading provider of crewed submersibles for charter and scientific research."
At the age of 19, Rush became the youngest jet transport-rated pilot in the world after obtaining his DC-8 Type/Captain’s rating at the United Airlines Jet Training Institute in 1981.
He has a BSE in Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University and an MBA from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.
Read More on the Titanic
When did Stockton Rush go missing?
On June 18, 2023, OceanGate Expeditions sent out a submersible to explore the Titanic wreckage located 900 nautical miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
It is reported that Rush was one of five passengers and crew members aboard the vessel sent out to sea on Sunday.
However, when the vessel did not return, it prompted a search by the Coast Guard for the missing research submarine.
Rush, along with French submersible pilot Paul-Henry Nargeolet, and Hamish Harding, a 59-year-old British billionaire businessman, were on the mission, according to Sky News.
Most read in The US Sun
On June 22, a robot searching for the vessel found debris, which the US Coast Guard confirmed to be the remains of Titan.
OceanGate announced that the five missing passengers passed away after the sub suffered a "catastrophic implosion."
What is Oceangate and what do they do?
OceanGate is a private company that owns and operates three five‑person submersibles for various purposes, including:
- site survey and inspection
- research and data collection
- film and media production
- deep sea testing platform
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Their many explorations, including the ones exploring the Titanic ruins, travel to depths as great as 4000 meters (2.5 miles).
According to the company website: "After the successful expeditions to the wreck in 2021 and 2022, OceanGate Expeditions will continue to return annually to further document the Titanic and its rate of decay."
