Deep-diving vessels from around the world have been deployed to help search for the missing tourist submersible Titanic – as the Coast Guard says passengers on board have about 40 hours of oxygen left.
The US Navy said Tuesday it is sending experts and a “Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System” — which can elevate small vessels — to assist.
A team from France is expected to arrive in Canada on Wednesday to pilot a remote-controlled robot and submarine deployed from the ship L’Atlante.
The boat can accommodate up to 30 technicians and scientists for up to 45 days, and both onboard equipment can reach up to 6,000 m (approximately 20,000 feet) below sea level.
OceanGate’s submersible, the Titan, is currently missing with five people on board after losing communications during a dive to the wreck of the Titanic, some 12,500 feet below the Atlantic.
A frantic search and rescue operation is underway to locate and recover the ship before its oxygen supply is depleted for 96 hours.
A team from France is expected to arrive in Canada on Wednesday to pilot a remote-controlled robot and submarine (pictured) deployed from the ship L’Atlante.
Who is Stockton Rush?
Seattle-born Rush, 61, founded OceanGate Expeditions in 2009 — after unsuccessfully trying to buy explorer and businessman Steve Fossett’s submersible after the adventurer died in a plane crash in 2007.
As a young man, Rush was more interested in outer space than the deep sea: at 19, he became the world’s youngest jet transport pilot and qualified at the United Airlines Jet Training Institute.
For the next three years he flew for Saudi Arabian Airlines during the summer holidays from his aerospace engineering degree at Princeton.
Beginning in 1984, he worked in the US Air Force on the F-15 and anti-satellite missile programs with the goal of eventually joining the space program.
Rush earned an MBA from Berkeley and went on to work for several companies specializing in sonar, underwater technology and radar.
Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate
He built a Glasair III experimental aircraft, which he flew regularly, and his own two-person Kittredge K-350 submersible.
Rush always intended to take tourists to Titanic: in 2017, he said he plans to do hydrothermal vent trips, deep-sea canyon trips, and underwater battlefield tours.
He then hoped to work in oil and gas exploration.
In 2018, the Manned Underwater Vehicles Committee of the Marine Technology Society, a 60-year-old trade group, warned that the company’s “current “experimental” approach” could lead to problems that could “range from minor to catastrophic.”
The company also fired David Lochridge, head of marine operations for the Titan Project, after he disagreed with his call for the submersible to undergo more stringent safety testing, including “tests to prove its integrity.”
The company also decided against ‘classifying’ boats, an industry-wide practice whereby independent inspectors ensure vessels meet recognized technical standards.
The expedition’s participants include billionaire Hamish Harding, CEO of Action Aviation in Dubai, and Shahzada Dawood, 48, a UK-based board member of the Prince’s Trust charity, and his son Sulaiman Dawood, 19.
Also on board the ship, which disappeared on Sunday, is OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and PH Nargeolet, a veteran of the French Navy.
The Navy does not say how deep its hoist system can be operated. The Titanic is 12,500 feet below sea level.
The system was successfully used in March 2021 to recover a Sea Hawk helicopter lying on the seabed near Okinawa, Japan, approximately 19,075 feet below the surface. At that time a new salvage record was set.
“The Navy is deploying subject matter experts and a Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System (FADOSS), a motion-compensated hoisting system designed to provide reliable deep-sea hoisting capacity for the salvage of large, bulky and heavy underwater objects such as aircraft or small vessels. “By the Navy Supervisor of Salvage,” a Navy spokesman told The War Zone on Tuesday.
This expertise and equipment will support USCG [U.S. Coast Guard] and the unified command.
“Personnel and equipment are due to arrive at St. John’s [in Canada] tonight.’
FADOSS is a modular system that can be deployed from any suitable vessel to recover objects weighing up to 60,000 pounds.
Titan weighs about 23,000 pounds, according to OceanGate.
L’Atlante, which is expected to arrive in the search zone later Wednesday, is less than 48 hours from where the submarine went missing, according to Hervé Berville, France’s junior minister in charge of maritime affairs.
On board are a manned submersible named Nautile and the remote-controlled vehicle Victor 6000.
Capable of diving to depths of 20,000 feet with a crew of three, the Nautile is one of the few manned deep-sea submarines.
It features three wide-angle viewing windows and LED searchlights allow a direct view of the seabed.
A dive aboard the submarine can last up to eight hours, of which six hours can be spent on the seabed.
The remotely operated Victor 600 is a cable-operated deep-sea ROV capable of reaching depths of 20,000 feet.
It is equipped with a high-performance navigation system that includes an array of sensors linked to an inertial navigation system and has completed more than 700 dives.
The high-resolution optical imaging system ensures optimal visual perception of the environment and can also create 3D optical reconstructions of the observation area.
Victor 6000 is connected to the ship by a 26,250 foot electromechanical cable and delivers 20 kW of power.
Victor 6000 is connected to the ship by a 26,250 foot electromechanical cable and delivers 20 kW of power
L’Atlante can accommodate up to 30 technicians and scientists for up to 45 days, and both onboard equipment can reach depths of 20,000 feet below sea level
SCHEDULE OF MISSING DIVE BOTTOM TITAN
8 am Sunday: Titan submerges about 900 miles east of Cape Cod
9:45 a.m.: The expedition ship Polar Prince loses contact with the submersible
5.40 p.m .: The Coast Guard is made aware of the missing submarine for the first time
9:13 p.m .: Canadian Coast Guard alerted
Thursday at 8 a.m.: 96 hours of oxygen are running out
Fiber optics in the cable send the data and image streams to the surface, enabling real-time control from the ship – with no time limit on the duration of the journey.
In addition to the French vessels, a Bahamas-flagged vessel owned by a British and US company is also aiding the search effort.
Owned by TechnipFMC, a company specializing in laying pipes and cables, the Deep Energy arrived at the wreck site on Tuesday morning.
A statement said: “The effort is being led by the United States Coast Guard with support from the Canadian Coast Guard.”
The ship has two remote-controlled vehicles that can dive to a depth of 9,850 feet to assist in the search.
They are unmanned submersibles, piloted from a control room on the mothership and linked by 3,280-foot cables.
At a press conference Tuesday at the US Coast Guard in Boston, which coordinates search and rescue efforts, First District Response Coordinator Capt. Jamie Frederick admitted that a rescue was far from guaranteed.
Titan is currently missing with five people on board after communications were lost during a dive to the Titanic wreck, which lies some 12,500 feet below the Atlantic
Two remotely operated vehicles are deployed to assist in the search, but they can only dive to a depth of 9,850 feet. The wreck of the Titanic lies 12,500 feet below sea level
In addition to the French vessel, a Bahamian-flagged vessel specializing in laying pipes and cables is also assisting in the search effort
Even if they locate the missing ship in time, there is no certainty that it can be safely brought to the surface.
The Coast Guard has already searched 7,600 square miles of ocean — an area the size of Connecticut.
At 12,500 feet underwater there are few vessels that can dive deep enough to find it.
The only ones that can search the seabed are remote-controlled vehicles, which are currently searching the ocean.
Shahzada Dawood, 48, a UK-based board member of the Prince’s Trust charity, and his son Sulaiman Dawood, 19, are among the five people trapped in the submarine
French Navy veteran PH Nargeolet (left) is believed to be taking part in the expedition along with Stockton Rush (right), CEO of OceanGate Expedition
Among the expedition’s participants is billionaire Hamish Harding (pictured), CEO of Action Aviation in Dubai. He excitedly posted on social media that he was there on Sunday
When they find the sub, getting it to the surface is a whole different task and requires special equipment that isn’t already on site.
Other experts compared it to requiring a 2.5-mile cable to lasso to the far side of the moon.
Several civilian ships as well as ships and aircraft from the US Navy and the Canadian Navy are helping with the search.
Equipment now en route to the scene includes a decompression chamber for the five passengers should they be brought to the surface.