2023-06-21 14:00:38
Complex research: “We do not have all the expertise and equipment necessary for research of this nature”
Rescuers trying to find the missing submersible during an expedition to visit the wreck of the Titanic face a gigantic technical challenge because of the depth of the North Atlantic. The gigantic search area, which extends over 20,000 square kilometers and potentially goes down to 4,000 meters deep, complicates the task. All this in a time trial between now and Thursday at midday, when passengers will no longer have oxygen reserves available.
“It’s pitch dark down there. It is freezing cold. The seabed is made up of mud and it is wavy. You can’t see your hand in front of your face”explained Tim Maltin, expert du Titanicto the American channel NBC News Now. “It’s a bit like an astronaut going into space. »
The search is currently being coordinated by the US Coast Guard. But the complexity of this mission goes beyond the usual skills of rescuers, Captain Jamie Frederik told reporters on Tuesday. “We do not have all the expertise and equipment necessary for research of this nature”he acknowledged, adding: “This is a complex research effort, requiring multiple agencies with subject matter expertise and specialized equipment. »
Rescuers are likely looking in three different places, according to oceanographer Jules Jaffe, who was part of the team that developed the optical imaging system used to locate the wreckage of the Titanic in 1985. Le submersible “lies either at the bottom of the sea, or somewhere in the water column, or on the surface”he told ABC10 in San Diego, adding that he believes the water column “is the most likely place.” » According to him, a way to find the Titan East “to use the type of sonars with which we map the seabed”.
But if the tiny vessel has sunk to the very bottom of the ocean, it could be very difficult to spot, according to Jamie Pringle, professor of geosciences at Keele University, UK. “The bottom of the ocean is not flat, there are many hills and canyons”, he reminded the NBC channel. Especially since at a depth of 4 kilometers, the prevailing pressure is 400 times greater than that on the surface, and adds an additional challenge to that of the underwater relief. Equipment that can withstand it is rare: few ships can operate at such depths.
Nuclear submarines commonly used by different armies generally operate at a depth of only 300 meters, according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
The Navy is sending a Flyaway Deep Ocean rescue system, along with subject matter experts, the maritime service said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. This is a “motion-compensated lifting system designed to provide reliable offshore lifting capability for the recovery of large and heavy underwater objects such as aircraft or small vessels”according to the press release. The rescue system and the experts arrived on Tuesday evening.
The United States Navy “previously used the rescue system to recover an F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter that crashed in the South China Sea after a ramp strike on USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70)”a reported the United States Naval Institute (USNI). This enabled him to recover the aircraft at 12,400 feet.
The French ship Atalanta from Ifremer, also equipped with an underwater robot, the Victor 6 000is due to arrive on Wednesday.
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