DThe Coast Guards of Canada and the United States continued their feverish search on Tuesday for the missing mini-submarine “Titan” owned by the company OceanGate Expeditions, which started a dive to the wreck of the “Titanic” on Sunday morning. However, there is no trace so far. “Today, those search efforts have yielded no results,” a US Coast Guard spokesman said Tuesday in Boston.
There are five people on board the submersible. The search is a race against time – the submarine had oxygen for about four days when it left, it said. “Based on this initial report, we know there are approximately 40 hours of breathable air left,” US Coast Guard coordinator for the operation Jamie Frederick said Tuesday night.
The Boston Coast Guard is leading the search and tweeted that the crew of five “dived Sunday morning and the crew of the Polar Prince lost contact with them about an hour and 45 minutes into the dive.” At this point, the submarine was approximately 900 miles (1450 km) off the coast of Cape Cod.
The U.S. Coast Guard was notified Sunday afternoon, according to coordinator of the operation John Mauger. She sent two C-130 aircraft to search the sea surface. The Canadian Coast Guard dispatched an aircraft and a vessel equipped with buoy sonar technology. The search under water is now being intensified in the hope of being able to locate the submersible, as Mauger told US broadcaster CNN.
“Searching this remote area is challenging, but we’re sending everything we have to make sure we can locate the boat and rescue those on board,” Mauger told reporters in Boston, Massachusetts on Monday ). As darkness fell on Monday evening, search flights were suspended while a US National Guard unit and Titan operator OceanGate Expeditions continued the search on the water.
Meanwhile, France sent a special ship including a diving robot to the region. The research ship “Atalante” from the marine research institute Ifremer, which is already on a mission, will arrive on site on Wednesday evening, said France’s Secretary of State for the Sea, Hervé Berville, as reported by the broadcaster BFMTV. The “Victor 6000” robot is remotely controlled by the research ship via a cord up to eight kilometers long and is described by Ifremer as a “flagship device for underwater operations”, as reported by BFMTV. The robot can be used at depths of up to 6000 meters.
What is known about the five missing?
The sub is carrying five passengers, including 58-year-old British billionaire pilot and space tourist Hamish Harding. On Sunday, he shared on his Instagram that he was “proud to finally announce” that he would be joining the Titanic wreckage mission. “A weather window has opened and we will attempt a dive,” he wrote.
Harding is chairman of the Action Aviation aircraft company in Dubai. According to English media reports, he is a trained pilot, diver and parachutist himself.
Harding’s Action Aviation chief executive, Mark Butler, said the group broke up on Friday. “We all hope and pray that he comes back safe and sound.” Harding’s son Brian Szasz had confirmed his father’s disappearance on social media. The post has since been deleted on Facebook.
The British entrepreneur Hamish Harding, who received his astronaut pin here after a successful flight into space, is also on board the missing submarine
Source: pa/dpa/Blue Origin/AP/Felix Kunze
Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son are said to be on board the missing Titanic submersible, it was announced on Tuesday. “Our son Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman had embarked on a journey to explore the Remains of the Titanic to visit in the Atlantic Ocean,” British media quoted a statement from the family as saying.
Shahzada Dawood lives in the UK and is Vice Chairman of Karachi-based conglomerate Engro. He is also involved in his family’s foundation, which was set up in 1960 and is dedicated to education. Loud “Daily Mail“ the 48-year-old is one of the richest men in Pakistan.
According to the British media, the French Titanic expert Paul Henry Nargeolet should also be on board. He is said to have carried out numerous dives on the “Titanic” wreck and once served in the French Navy. A spokesman for the family confirmed this to the BBC on Tuesday. “Mr Titanic”, as he is known, is a former Navy diver and was part of the first expedition to study the famous wreck in 1987. He has reportedly spent more time there than anyone else. The spokesman hopes that Nargeolet’s composure and his military career will reassure the crew, even if the outcome of the rescue operation does not depend on him.
The Titanic lies about 600 kilometers off the coast of Newfoundland
Source: Infographic WORLD
This is also consistent with Harding’s statement on Instagram: “The submarine’s crew includes legendary explorers, some of whom have made more than 30 dives on the ‘Titanic’ since the 1980s.”
The fifth passenger is OceanGate Expedition chief Stockton Rush. The company confirmed this on Tuesday.
OceanGate Expeditions said on Monday it would do everything possible “to bring the five crew members back safely”. The company is “deeply grateful for the extensive assistance we have received from multiple government agencies and deepwater companies in our efforts to re-establish contact with the submersible.”
What could have happened to the submarine?
The BBC has talked to a submarine expert, who had shown various scenarios for the whereabouts of the submarine. So it could be that after an emergency, a “drop weight” was dropped to bring the boat to the surface, explained Prof. Alistair Greig from University College London.
Greig continued, “If there was a power outage and/or a communications failure, that could have happened and the submersible would then be floating on the surface waiting to be found.” It’s also conceivable that the hull was damaged and it as a result there was a leak or the boat was jammed. Then the prognosis is “not good.” Former submarine officer Frank Owen told the BBC the biggest challenge for those trapped was staying calm and not using too much oxygen.
Should the submarine sink to the seabed again and be unable to resurface under its own power, Greig says the options are severely limited. “The sub might still be intact, but if it’s more than 200m deep, there are very few ships that can go that deep, let alone divers. The vehicles designed to rescue naval submarines can’t go anywhere near as deep as the Titanic,” he said.
“It will be hot, it will be cramped”
According to an expert, the conditions in the submersible are extremely difficult. “It’s going to be hot, it’s going to be cramped,” oceanologist Simon Boxall of the University of Southampton told the BBC. “There is no rescue capsule.” At this depth, there is enormous pressure, and it is impossible to get out. “So they are completely dependent on the submersible being found.” Boxall emphasized: “It is an enormous challenge that we have never had to overcome before.” The time for a rescue is very short.
Oceanographer David Mearns said a commercial pipe-laying vessel had arrived in the area. The ship is very capable and it is hoped it will have the ability to reach the depth needed to search for the submersible.
Reporter David Pogue from the US broadcaster CBS, who took part in the trip last year, told the BBC that the vehicle made an improvised impression on him. “You control this submarine with an Xbox game controller,” Pogue said. Part of the ballast consists of construction pipes.
Heated walls and a toilet – the interior of the “Titan”
The “Titan” is specially built for tourists, but it’s not really comfortable. Travelers must sit on the floor. The dimensions do not allow room for movement, as the BBC reported on Tuesday.
The curved porthole at the front is intended to provide a view of the “Titanic”. According to the BBC, the company raves about the “largest vantage point of all manned deep-sea submersibles”. Powerful searchlights on the outside break through the pitch-black water at a depth of around 3,800 meters and illuminate the wreck. It can get very cold in the depths of the Atlantic. Therefore the walls are heated.
The dive boat
Source: dpa/OceanGate Expeditions
This photo provided by American Photo Archive shows the interior of the missing Titan submersible with the passengers who were traveling at the time
Source: dpa/American Photo Archive
A special feature: There is a toilet in the front area. If you have to, pull a curtain – and the pilot turns up the music. However, the company recommends “restricting diet before and during the dive to reduce the likelihood that you will need to use the facilities.”
Fascination “Titanic” – for 229,000 euros
OceanGate Expeditions began organizing annual expeditions to the wreck of the Titanic in 2021 to document the ocean liner’s disintegration. The first group of tourists – so-called mission specialists – financed the expedition with 100,000 to 150,000 dollars per person. According to the company’s website, a seat as a passenger on the submersible currently costs $250,000 (around 229,000 euros).
The “Titanic”, which was considered unsinkable, left the English port of Southampton on April 10, 1912 for its maiden voyage to New York. Five days later, what was then the world’s largest cruise ship sank after hitting an iceberg. Almost 1,500 of the 2,224 people on board perished.
The wreck of the British giant ship, which broke in two, was only found in 1985 about 400 miles off the Canadian coast. It is located in international waters in the Atlantic at about 4000 meters depth.