A major search operation is underway in the North Atlantic after the submarine Titan suddenly disappeared while on an expedition to the wreck of the Titanic on June 18.
According to BBC , the research vessel Polar Prince lost contact with the crew of the submarine Titan after the ship began diving for an hour and 45 minutes. As of 5pm (local time) on June 19, the US Coast Guard estimated that the ship had enough oxygen reserves to last about 70-96 hours.
The company that operates the OceanGate ship said it was considering all options to bring the passengers home safely. US and Canadian government agencies are also involved in the search.
Latest information on the search for the Titan ship
The Polar Prince approached the area near the Titanic wreck in the Atlantic Ocean on the morning of June 18. A statement on Facebook by billionaire Hamish Harding, one of the five passengers, said the Titan submarine's dive began at 4am (local time).
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The Titan, while diving to the wreck of the Titanic, went missing on the morning of June 18. Photo: OceanGate. |
"The ship began diving on the morning of June 18, the crew of the mother ship Polar Prince lost contact with passengers on the Titan about an hour and 45 minutes after the process began," the Boston Coast Guard - which is leading the search - informed on Twitter.
The Titan was believed to be about 900 miles off the coast of Cape Cod at the time of the loss of contact.
US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said on June 19 (local time) that the rescue operation faced many challenges because this was an area far from shore.
According to him, the search campaign has two main aspects. The first is a surface search, in case the Titan has surfaced but lost contact. The second aspect is an underwater search using sonar technology.
The Titanic wreck, located at a depth of about 3,800 m, is the destination that the Titan ship headed for on its eight-day journey. Photo: Reuters.The US Coast Guard has deployed two C-130 Hercules aircraft to join the surface search, while a Canadian C-130 and a P8 reconnaissance aircraft, equipped with sonar, are searching the seabed for the ship.
Rear Admiral Mauger said rescuers would need additional specialized personnel, including from the US Navy, to rescue the Titan if the submarine was found underwater and calling for help.
According to the Canadian Ministry of National Defense , in addition to the C-130 aircraft, the Canadian coast guard ship Kopit Hopson is also assisting in the search.
Horizon Maritime, co-owner of the Polar Prince, confirmed to the BBC that it and a second vessel called the Horizon Arctic had been dispatched to the location where the Titan went missing.
Passengers on board
Of the five passengers on board the Titan, only one has been identified as Hamish Harding, a British explorer and billionaire.
Harding first announced he would be taking the trip in June 2022, adding that his fellow passengers included "legendary explorers, with more than 30 dives to the Titanic since the 1980s".
The billionaire is the chairman of Action Aviation, an aviation sales and operations company headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Sharing on Twitter on June 18, his company said "the Titan ship has been successfully deployed and is diving to the sea floor".
As of June 18, the US Coast Guard was not ready to release the identities of the passengers on the Titan out of respect for their families.
What was the Titan doing when it lost contact?
OceanGate Expeditions sells eight-day expeditions to the wreck of the Titanic for $250,000 per person. The famous passenger ship sank on its maiden voyage in 1912 after hitting an iceberg, killing more than 1,500 people.
The site of the Titanic's sinking is approximately 600 km off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, at a depth of 3,800 m. The ship broke into two parts, approximately 800 m apart. Surrounding the Titanic's wreckage were numerous pieces of debris and ship's belongings.
A P8 aircraft, equipped with sonar sensors, has been mobilized to join the search for the Titan ship. Photo: Reuters.The dive and surface visit to the Titanic wreck takes about eight hours. Each eight-day expedition, according to OceanGate, has a specific scientific objective, such as assessing the extent of the ship's decay. The company plans to make its first trip in 2021.
What we know about the Titan ship
Titan is a submarine capable of carrying five passengers, designed to dive to a depth of 4,000 m and travel at a speed of 5.6 km/h.
In addition to carrying passengers to the Titanic wreck, Titan was also used for other purposes such as research, monitoring, data collection, filming, and testing equipment and software at great depths.
The OceanGate website says Titan has a real-time hull condition monitoring and evaluation system that relies on sensors to assess the impact of pressure changes on the hull during a dive.
"This monitoring and analysis system provides early warning to the operator, giving them enough time to stop the dive and return to the surface safely," the company said.
In 2022, a CBS reporter experienced a trip to visit the Titanic wreck organized by OceanGate.
David Pogue, who made the trip, said he read a notice describing the submarine as "experimental, not licensed or approved by the relevant authorities. The trip could result in injury, psychological distress or death to passengers."
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush presented Pogue with a design for the ship that featured a single button and was operated by a video game controller.
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