A search and rescue effort is being conducted in the Atlantic Ocean for a lost submarine that was sent out to explore the Titanic’s wreckage, the famous ocean liner that sank more than a century ago.
Hamish Harding, a British businessman, and explorer, is one of five people inside the technologically superior submarine. The submarine has about 70 hours of oxygen left, according to estimates.
The vessel was reported overdue Sunday night about 700 kilometers south of St. John’s, Newfoundland. The US Coast Guard in Boston was leading the search effort, with assistance from a Canadian Coast Guard vessel and military aircraft.
Addressing a news conference Monday, US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said they “anticipate that they’re somewhere between 70 to the full 96 hours” of oxygen available on the vessel at this point.
Missing Titanic submarine: There was one pilot and four “mission specialists” aboard
OceanGate Expeditions, which operated the submersible, claimed that its priority was the crew members and their families.
According to OceanGate advisor David Concannon, the submersible had a 96-hour supply of oxygen starting about 6 a.m. on Sunday.
Archaeologists and marine biologists are on OceanGate’s excursions to the Titanic wreck site. Additionally, the business invites guests who have paid a fee.
They work in the five-person submersible as “missions specialists,” rotating between using sonar equipment and other activities.
The Coast Guard said Monday that there was one pilot and four “mission specialists” aboard.
U.K. businessman Hamish Harding was one of the mission specialists, according to Action Aviation. Harding is the holder of three Guinness World Records, including the longest period of time spent by a crewed vessel at full ocean depth. Together with oceanographer Victor Vescovo, he descended into the Mariana Trench’s deepest point in March 2021.
The expedition was part of OceanGate’s third yearly trip to document the degradation of the Titanic, which sank in 1912 after colliding with an iceberg and killing all but about 700 of its 2,200 passengers and crew.
The debris has been steadily decomposing since it was discovered in 1985 due to microorganisms that consume metal. According to some, the ship could disappear within a few decades as parts and holes yawn in the hull.
The initial set of tourists in 2021 paid between $100,000 and $150,000 for each person to take the journey on the Titan submarine. According to OceanGate’s court petition, it can dive 4,000 meters, or 13,120 feet, “with a comfortable safety margin.”
Although it is ballasted to be neutrally buoyant once it touches the seafloor, the object weighs 20,000 pounds (9,072 kilograms) in the air.
According to OceanGate, the Titan is constructed of “titanium and filament wound carbon fiber” and has demonstrated its ability to “withstand the enormous pressures of the deep ocean.”