What the Titan Sub Disaster Reveals About Risk and Adventure Travel

The OceanGate Titan disaster was more than adventure travel gone wrong. It was a clear case of leadership failure.

Before founding Niveus Travel, I spent years in leadership development. I helped executives foster clarity, accountability, and resilience in high-stakes environments.

That lens hasn’t disappeared just because I now work in travel.

When I watched the Netflix documentary about the Titan submersible, I saw more than a doomed expedition. I saw a leader so consumed by his vision of reaching the Titanic that he dismissed expert warnings, discouraged disagreement, and treated criticism as betrayal.

The result was catastrophic.

Leadership failure doesn’t always end in disaster at the bottom of the ocean. But the patterns are familiar:

• Prioritizing ego over expertise
• Confusing boldness with recklessness
• Creating cultures where no one feels safe saying "no"

Now I design journeys to wild places: the Arctic, the Andes, and other edges of the map. But I do it in partnership with people who deeply understand the terrain and respect its limits.

I believe in bold travel. But not in silencing experts or romanticizing danger.

Adventure travel should expand your perspective, not ignore the risks. How we travel matters as much as where we go.