Scenarios for the fate of the missing Titan ship in the Atlantic Ocean

The Titan submersible is owned by the private company Ocean Gate - a company specializing in operating and providing ocean exploration services. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Search and rescue efforts are underway after the Titan tourist submersible carrying five people went missing on the morning of June 19 while on a tour of the Titanic wreck.

The 23-foot Titan, owned by OceanGate Expeditions, disappeared from radar about an hour and 45 minutes after diving off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Experts estimate the passengers - including British billionaire Hamish Harding and a father and son from Pakistan - could run out of oxygen by the afternoon of June 22.

While rescue efforts are still underway, here are three possible scenarios for the submerged ship and its passengers:

1. The Titan ship may be floating on the ocean surface, waiting to be found.

Stefan B. Williams, a professor of marine robotics at the University of Sydney who works at the unmanned submersible lab, told Insider that this would be the "best-case scenario."

Mr Williams said it was possible the equipment Titan used to communicate with the support ship, the Polar Prince, had failed and it had surfaced and was waiting to be found.

“It is a possibility, but perhaps at the end of the dive the ship will surface as expected,” Mr Williams said. “That seems less and less likely as time goes on.”

Submersibles like the Titan are often designed to reduce weight or automatically inflate buoys to return to the surface if something goes wrong, Professor Williams added.

Retired Navy Rear Admiral Chris Parry told Sky News that if the ship had surfaced, it "should have been found by now."

According to OceanGate's website, Titan dives typically take about eight hours, including descent and resurfacing time.

The US Coast Guard searched an area "the size of Connecticut" but did not find the ship.

2. The submarine was crushed to the bottom of the sea.

Professor Williams said if the submersible had not surfaced, there would likely have been a "serious incident."

It could have been a leak or a power outage. It’s also possible that a small fire caused by an electrical short could have damaged the ship’s electronic systems, which are used to navigate and control the ship, Williams said in a blog post about the submersible.

The worst-case scenario is a breach in the hull's pressure equalization chamber, leading to a "catastrophic explosion" and "there is very little chance of survival" if this happens, the expert said.

3. The Titan submersible gets caught in the wreckage of the Titanic

Another possible scenario, two experts say, is that the Titan could become entangled in the wreckage of the Titanic, which lies about 3,800m below the sea surface.

According to OceanGate's website, the Titan, which is powered by an electric motor, can carry five divers to depths of nearly 4,000 meters.

Titanic wreck in the Atlantic Ocean. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Frank Owen, a retired Royal Australian Navy officer and director of the submarine rescue and escape project, told The Guardian that the wreckage on the ocean floor was “surrounded by debris from the disaster more than a century ago.”

"There are pieces of the ship everywhere. It's very dangerous," he said.

It is unclear whether the submersible ever reached the Titanic wreck in the first place.

Underwater rescue operations are very difficult.

Alistair Greig, professor of marine engineering at University College London, told The Guardian that in any case, a rescue from the ocean floor would be very difficult.

“There are very few ships that can dive to such depths, and divers certainly cannot do this,” he said.

Mr Williams added that it may be difficult for rescue teams to detect the sunken ship at the bottom of the sea, as sonar cannot detect the submerged ship due to the debris and uneven terrain on the seabed.

The Titan submersible is likely still stuck at the bottom of the sea. (Photo: AFP/TTXVN)

Whatever the circumstances of Titan's disappearance, if the ship is still intact and the passengers are still alive, those trapped inside are trying to survive in a "pretty harsh environment," Williams told Insider.

Without life support systems, submarines can become very cold - the outside water temperature is close to freezing.

David Pogue, a science journalist who was on the submersible last year, said passengers typically only brought a sandwich and a bottle of water, and there were no toilets on board.

David Gallo, senior advisor for strategic initiatives at RMS Titanic, told CNN that reduced oxygen levels and the need to combat the cold were the primary concerns for passengers' safety at this time.

"The water is very deep - more than 2 miles. It's like a trip to another planet. It's not what people think. It's a sunless, cold, high-pressure environment," said Gallo.

VNA

Source: http://www.baovanhoa.vn/the-gioi/artmid/425/articleid/65790/nhung-kich-ban-ve-so-phan-con-tau-titan-mat-tich-o-dai-tay-duong