In January 2018, he outlined his concerns again to Stockton Rush. This time Rush asked him to complete an inspection of the vessel.

…

“I formulated a report and I sent it out to all the directors in the company.”

The following day he was summoned to a meeting with Rush and several other Oceangate employees.

…

To Lochridge’s surprise, immediately after this meeting he was fired.

…

In March, Oceangate asked Lochridge to drop the OSHA complaint - and demanded he pay $10,000 for legal costs. Lochridge declined.

Then in July 2018, Oceangate sued Lochridge - and his wife Carole - for breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, fraud and theft, amongst other allegations. The following month, Lochridge countersued for unfair dismissal.

…

In December 2018, under increasing pressure from Oceangate’s lawyers, Lochridge and his wife took the decision to drop the case.

This meant the legal proceedings were settled, and as part of this agreement Lochridge withdrew his complaint at OSHA. OSHA stopped its investigation and also notified the US Coast guard that the complaint had been suspended. Lochridge also signed a non-disclosure agreement.