A large-scale search and rescue operation is currently underway in the remote area of the Atlantic Ocean after a tourist submarine went missing during a mission to document the wreckage of the Titanic on June 18.
The fee for the 8-day expedition was $250,000 per person.
The US Coast Guard reported that contact with the small sub was lost approximately one hour and 45 minutes into its dive. The missing Titan submersible, which is approximately the size of a truck and usually carries a four-day emergency supply of oxygen.
The Titanic wreckage sits 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) underwater, where light does not penetrate. It lies below the surface southeast of Newfoundland, Canada.
Who’s on the missing Titanic sub?
The sub was carrying five people, one pilot and four mission specialists, including a British adventurer, a French diver and a Pakistani father and son, according to social media posts and a family statement.
Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman are on the vessel named Titan. Shahzada is vice chairman of one of Pakistan’s largest conglomerates, Engro Corporation, with investments in fertilizers, vehicle manufacturing, energy and digital technologies. He lives in the United Kingdom with his wife and two children. The Dawoods belong to one of Pakistan’s most prominent families.
Hamish Harding, the British billionaire and chairman of aviation company Action Aviation is also among those missing, according to his stepson.
Dubai-based Harding had posted on social media that he was proud to be heading to the Titanic as a “mission specialist”, adding: “Due to the worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023.”
Paul-Henri Gargeolet, the 77-year-old French explorer, is director of underwater research at a company that owns the rights to the Titanic wreck. After retiring from the Navy, the French oceanographer led the first recovery expedition to the Titanic in 1987 and is a leading authority on the wreck site.
Rescue operation
OceanGate, the tour firm responsible for the expedition, stated that all available options were being explored to rescue those onboard. Government agencies, the US and Canadian navies, and commercial deep-sea firms have joined the rescue operation. Despite the Titanic wreck lying 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St John’s, Newfoundland, the mission control for the rescue is being conducted from Boston, Massachusetts.
The search efforts involve two aircraft, a submarine, and sonar buoys. However, Rear Admiral Mauger acknowledged the challenges posed by the remote location, which is making the operation more difficult.
As of Tuesday morning, rescue crews are still scrambling to try and locate a submersible vessel carrying 5 people that went missing while attempting to visit the deep-sea wreckage of the Titanic in the North Atlantic. Here's what you need to know. pic.twitter.com/CITmv5EQ34
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) June 20, 2023
Rear Admiral John Mauger of the US Coast Guard announced in a news conference: “We anticipate there is somewhere between 70 and the full 96 hours available at this point.”
Rear Admiral Mauger emphasized that the rescue teams were fully committed to safely bringing the individuals on board the submersible home and stated that they were taking the situation personally.
OceanGate expressed its primary concern for the crewmembers and their families and conveyed gratitude for the extensive assistance received from various government agencies and deep-sea companies.
The “entire focus [was] on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families,” OceanGate said in a statement, adding: “We are deeply thankful 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.”
— OceanGate Expeditions (@OceanGateExped) June 19, 2023
The company’s website describes the expedition as an opportunity to escape everyday life and experience something extraordinary. Currently, one expedition is ongoing, and two more have been scheduled for June 2024.
Tickets for the eight-day trip on the missing Titan submersible, which included dives to the Titanic wreck at a depth of 3,800 meters (12,500 feet), cost $250,000 (£195,000).