Missing Titanic submersible live updates: Texts show OceanGate CEO dismissed concerns

Digital marketing tycoon Chris Brown originally planned to go on Sunday's submersible tour of the Titanic wreckage but withdrew due to safety concerns. His friend, Hamish Harding, is among those aboard the missing vessel.

Brown, who described himself as a "modern day adventurer," admitted that he knew "very little" about the tour operator, OceanGate Expeditions, prior to signing up. But he said the deep-sea trip initially sounded "like a great idea."

"The Titanic's obviously an iconic wreck," Brown told ABC News' Michael Strahan during an interview Wednesday on "Good Morning America."

"OceanGate had put forward this program to go down and do a 3D scan of the wreck," he added. "So it's a chance for an expedition, exploration and adding a bit of science into the situation."

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Would-be crew member of missing sub on why he withdrew over safety concerns

Digital marketing tycoon Chris Brown originally planned to join the Titanic tourist submersible but pulled out over safety concerns.

ABCNews.com

Brown said safety concerns ultimately led him to pull out of the trip, but he declined to go into detail.

"I'm not really sure that this is the time to be going into that sort of thing," he added. "I think that the focus right now has to be on trying to rescue these people. It's not fair on the families and friends to be making speculation about what might've happened or how it happened at this point."

Brown said he feels "no" apprehension about joining similar projects in the future but noted that it's important to "think about all the risks."

"If you don’t have an appetite for those risks, then you might not go ahead," he said. "You may try and mitigate those by bringing in some expertise from outside. You might have other risks or dangers that could be mitigated by changing the time of when you go out there."

The submersible that was reported missing while on a tour of the underwater wreckage of the Titanic is an unorthodox vessel with a relatively unproven history, according to company press materials and experts familiar with underwater vehicles.

News of the vessel's disappearance prompted a flurry of interest in the company OceanGate Expeditions and its deep-sea submersible called the Titan.

The company's founder and CEO, Stockton Rush, who is one of the five people aboard the missing vessel, manned the Titan's first "validation dive" to 4,000 meters in 2018, according to the company. The company then began offering tourists the opportunity to dive to the depths of the Titanic in the following years, selling tickets for the 2023 journey for $250,000.

Here's what we know about how the submersible operates.

-ABC News' Peter Charalambous

A source familiar confirmed to ABC News that there were reports of "banging" that were picked up by sonar in the search area on Tuesday morning, but nothing has yet been found.

The U.S. Coast Guard had said early Wednesday that an aircraft with sonar capability "detected underwater noises in the search area," but remotely operated vehicles were unable to find the origin of the sound.

-ABC News' Luke Barr

Magellan, an international exploration company that digitally mapped the Titanic wreckage last year, said Wednesday that it is "ready to support" the search for the missing submersible and is "fully mobilized to help."

The U.K.-based company told ABC News that it was contacted by the submersible’s operator, OceanGate Expeditions, early Monday and "immediately offered our knowledge of the specific site and also our expertise operating at depth considerably in advance of what is required for this incident."

"We have been working full-time with U.K. and U.S. agencies to secure the necessary air support to move our specialist equipment and support crew," Magellan said in a statement.

When asked for comment about media reports that U.S. authorities have failed to give Magellan the necessary permits to participate in the search, the company told ABC News it "does not not wish to comment on any specific media report."

-ABC News' Emma Ogao