2023-06-20 02:52:30
A small submarine used to tour the wreck of the legendary cruise ship “Titanic” that sank in 1912 has disappeared off the coast of North America. The US Coast Guard launched a search operation, as announced on Monday. Rescue workers are looking for five missing people in the missing Submarine Since the oxygen in the nearly seven-meter-long “Titan” is sufficient for 96 hours according to the operator, “we assume that between 70 and 96 hours are currently available,” said Commander John Mauger of the US Coast Guard Monday afternoon (local time) in Boston The boat has been missing for more than 24 hours.
“We are using all available means to ensure that we can locate the ship and rescue the people on board,” Mauger said. The company Oceangate Expeditions confirmed that people were on board. “We are reviewing and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely,” the British BBC quoted a statement as saying.
According to British media British billionaire businessman Hamish Harding is among the passengers. According to the Independent, his stepson Brian Szasz confirmed on Facebook that Harding is missing: “My thoughts and prayers are with my stepdad Hamish Harding whose submarine went missing en route to the Titanic. The rescue mission is on.”
Just yesterday had Harding posted a picture on Instagram, signing a banner that reads “Titanic Expedition Mission V.” He wrote: “I am proud to announce that I have joined the RMS TITANIC mission of @oceangateexped will be there as a mission specialist.” He went on to say that due to inclement weather, this will likely be the only trip to Titanic this year. A good window had just opened up so they wanted to try the dive tomorrow morning. Until then, there are still a lot of preparations to be made. “More updates to come IF the weather holds up.” He hasn’t posted anything since.
The search for the submarine is ongoing, said a spokesman for the Coast Guard Coordination Center in the US east coast metropolis of Boston. According to the Canadian Coast Guard, it also took part in the rescue operation with an airplane and a ship. The oxygen supply on the “Titan”, as the small submersible is called, should last for 96 hours.
According to the US broadcaster CBS News, the company responsible, OceanGate Expeditions, said it was examining and mobilizing “all options to bring the crew back safely”. “Our entire focus is on the crew members of the submersible and their families,” the statement said further. The company is “deeply grateful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep-sea companies in our efforts to re-establish contact with the submersible.”
According to OceanGate Experiences, the 6.70 meter long submarine can accommodate five people: a captain, a maximum of three tourists and an expert. The tours, which depart from the Canadian island of Newfoundland, last a total of eight days. According to the New York Times, a trip in the summer of 2022 cost around 250,000 US dollars (currently 229,000 euros). The company is promoting the carbon fiber submersible rides as a chance to “step out of the ordinary and discover something truly extraordinary,” according to the BBC.
Difficult search conditions
Ocean researcher Robert Blasiak from the Stockholm Resilience Center pointed out the difficult conditions in the search area. “The ocean is four kilometers deep on average, so this submarine is at a great depth,” Blasiak told the BBC. Light penetrates a maximum of one kilometer into the sea surface, so it is pitch black with considerable water pressure at the same time. “We know where the Titanic is, but we don’t know where the sub is. So it might not be nearly as deep and we should all hope for that at this point.”
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Speaking to the BBC, University College London submarine expert Alistair Greig gave several possible scenarios for the incident. In the event of a power or communications failure, the sub could be driven to the surface. The situation would be much worse if the hull had been damaged and there was a leak. “Then the prognosis is not good,” said Greig.
It would also be difficult if the submersible could no longer rise from the seabed under its own power. “Even though the submersible may still be intact, if it’s deeper than 200 meters, there are very few vessels that can go that deep, let alone divers,” the expert said. “Certainly, the vehicles designed for the Navy’s submarine rescue cannot penetrate anywhere near the depths of the Titanic. And even if they could, I very much doubt they could attach to the tourist submersible’s hatch.”
The Titanic sank in the North Atlantic on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in 1912, killing more than 1,500 people. The remains of the famous luxury liner were discovered in 1985 at a depth of around 3800 meters. They are located in international waters about 400 miles off the Canadian coast. Since its discovery, researchers and tourists have regularly visited the wreck. Only recently, with the help of high-resolution 3D images, scientists offered the most accurate depiction of the wreck to date.
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