Businessmen, experts go missing while visiting Titanic wreck

A French expert and four British, Pakistani and American businessmen are believed to have been on the missing Titan submersible while visiting the Titanic wreck.

On June 18, US officials received information that Titan, one of three submersibles of OceanGate Expeditions, went missing in the Atlantic Ocean on June 18 while on a tour of the Titanic wreck.

OceanGate Expeditions, headquartered in Everett, Washington, USA, will start offering tours to see the Titanic wreck at a cost of about $250,000 per person from 2020. Tourists will spend 8 days at sea, being taken to the Titanic wreck area by a submersible that can accommodate 5 people.

A search operation has been launched to quickly rescue the five people on board, believed to include British billionaire Hamish Harding, French expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet, OceanGate Expeditions founder Stockton Rush, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman.

Hamish Harding posted an image of the submersible to his social media accounts on June 17. — Image of the Titan submersible posted by billionaire Hamish Harding on his personal Facebook account on June 17. Photo: *Facebook/HamishHarding*

Hamish Harding , 58, is a British businessman living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), chairman of Action Aviation, an international aircraft brokerage company based in Dubai.

On social media, the British billionaire describes himself as a world explorer. He holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest flight around the Earth over the North and South Poles in a plane, in 46 hours 40 minutes and 22 seconds.

In March 2021, Harding and American businessman and explorer Victor Vescovo dived to the Challenger Deep, the deepest known point on Earth, at a depth of more than 10,900 m. They used the deep-sea vehicle (DSV) Limiting Factor, piloted by Vescovo.

Last year, Harding participated in the fifth human spaceflight of Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos.

Billionaire Hamish Harding. Photo: Facebook/HamishHarding — From left to right are Paul-Henry Nargeolet, Hamish Harding and Stockton Rush. Photo: *AP/Facebook/OceanGate*

Stockton Rush , 61, American, is the CEO and founder of OceanGate Expeditions. He became the world's youngest jet transport pilot at the age of 19.

Rush is also the founder and board member of the non-profit OceanGate Foundation, which works to leverage emerging marine technology to further explore marine science , history, and archaeology.

Speaking to Sky News in February, Mr Rush mentioned visiting the Titanic wreck. "What will blow you away is the beauty of it," he said. "You don't usually see that on a shipwreck. It's an incredibly beautiful wreck."

Asked if they could go inside the Titanic, Mr Rush replied "you can look inside. We dived down and saw the grand staircase and some of the chandeliers still hanging. Next year we hope to be able to send a small robot inside the wreck, but right now we're just on the outside."

Rush had to cancel a visit to the Titanic wreck in 2018 when his submersible was struck by lightning, causing electrical damage. His 2019 trip was also marred by problems with the mother ship used to ferry visitors and the submersible.

Paul-Henry Nargeolet , 73, is a former commander in the French navy for 25 years. During his service, he was the captain of the deep-diving team of this force.

After leaving the military, Nargeolet joined the French Institute for Marine Research and Exploration, according to The Five Deeps Expedition, a company that brings together scientists, technicians and submersible pilots to carry out missions. He has led several expeditions to the Titanic wreck site since 1987 and participated in numerous scientific and technical expeditions around the world.

Nargeolet is considered one of the leading experts on the Titanic wreckage. The Irish Examiner described Nargeolet as having "spent more time than anyone else" at the wreckage of the ship, earning him the nickname "Mr Titanic".

Mr. Paul-Henry Nargeolet. Photo: — Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood. Photo: *WEF*

Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood , 48, was accompanied by his son Suleman , 19. Dawood is vice chairman of Engro Corporation, one of Pakistan's largest conglomerates, with investments in fertilizer manufacturing, vehicles, energy and digital technology.

He is also a trustee of SETI, a California-based research institute working on space exploration. Dawood lives in the UK with his wife and two children.