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A submersible taking a group of tourists to view the Titanic has gone missing.
Courtesy of NOAA/Institute for Exploration/University of Rhode Island (NOAA/IFE/URI). Public Domain
A search and rescue operation is underway to locate a submarine that went missing during a tourist expedition to the Titanic.
The U.S. Coast Guard launched a search and rescue operation on Monday after the submersible went missing Sunday night about 370 kilometers (230 miles) off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, according to CBC Canada.
A U.S.-based company, Oceangate Expeditions, is the tour group running the expeditions. They say they are “exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely.”
“Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families. We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible,” the group said, CNN News is reporting, “We are working toward the safe return of the crewmembers.”
The company bills the eight-day trip on its carbon-fiber submersible as a “chance to step outside of everyday life and discover something truly extraordinary.”
Titan is a Cyclops-class manned submersible designed to take five people to depths of 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) for site survey and inspection, research and data collection, film and media production, and deep sea testing of hardware and software.
Source – Ocean Gate
The Titan submersible
According to its website, one expedition is ongoing and two more have been planned for June 2024. The submersible usually carries a pilot, three paying guests, and what the company calls a “content expert.”
The OceanGate website lists three submersibles it owns, and only the Titan is capable of diving deep enough to reach the Titanic wreckage.
The vessel weighs 10,432 kg (23,000 lbs) and, according to the website, can reach depths of up to 4,000m and has 96 hours of life support available for a crew of five.
OceanGate’s website advertises a seven-night voyage to the Titanic for US$250,000 per person, or approximately C$330,000. A vessel called the Polar Prince, which is used to transport submersibles to the wreckage site, was also involved in the expedition, its owner told the BBC.
CTV News Canada is reporting that although the expedition departed from Canada, the Titanic wreck lies within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Boston fleet. Canada’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax has also tasked an aircraft and the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Kopit Hopson 1752 to join the search effort.
Titanic expert Larry Daley once spent 12 hours exploring the wreck in a submersible and is hopeful that the search and rescue mission will be successful.
“Deep submersible diving is very dangerous, but it’s high tech,” Daley told CTV affiliate NTV in St. John’s. “We have our own breathing system on-board, and if that’s maintained properly, like changing your filter and your CO2 scrubber, you can stay down there for quite a few hours.”
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