EVERETT, Wash. – A former OceanGate employee claims he was fired by the company for expressing concerns about the safety of its submersibles.

KIRO reports Everett-based OceanGate sued David Lochridge in 2018 for disclosing company secrets, and he responded in court that he had advised the company to do more testing of the vehicles’ hulls.

Meanwhile, a man who was one of the submersible company’s first customers characterized a dive he made to the Titanic site two years ago as a suicide mission.

Arthur Loibl is an adventurer who says he jumped at the chance, paying $110,000 for a dive in 2019 that fell through when the first submersible did not survive testing.

Two years later he went on a voyage that was successful, along with Stockton Rush, Paul-Henri Nargeolet and two men from England.

Despite some problems he said the group was lucky and enjoyed an amazing view of the wreck.

But in hindsight, he said, “it was a bit dubious.”