Massive search for missing submarine on expedition to Titanic wreckage
BOSTON – Coast Guard crews from Boston and a large number of other resources continue searching for a submersible with five people on board that went missing off the coast of southeast Canada while exploring the wreckage of the Titanic. The Navy is sending a deep ocean lifting system designed for heavy undersea objects.
According to CNN, banging sounds were heard during the search on Tuesday. Additional sonar devices were deployed.
WHAT WE KNOW: OceanGate Expeditions's missing Titanic-bound submersible
The 21-foot Titan vessel submerged Sunday morning. The crew of the Canadian research vessel Polar Prince lost contact with the submersible about 1 hour and 45 minutes into the dive, the Coast Guard said.
The submersible launched at 8 a.m. and was expected to resurface at 3 p.m. Sunday.
OceanGate Expeditions, a company that deploys manned submersibles for deep-sea expeditions, operates the missing vessel. The company did not say whether any of the people on board are paying tourists. It takes them as passengers on its expeditions.
"To date, search efforts have not yielded any results," First Coast Guard District Capt. Jamie Frederick said earlier on Tuesday.
Capt. Frederick also said deep-diving robotic equipment is now searching in the water in the last known location of the submersible and other private resources are on the way.
During a Monday press conference, Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said there is an emergency oxygen supply that likely had up to 96 hours available. The passengers are expected to run out of oxygen at about 6 a.m. Thursday.
"All of our efforts are on finding the [submersible]. All I can tell you is that we have our nation's best experts in the unified command and if we can get to [finding them], those experts would be looking at what the next course of action is," Capt. Frederick said.
In the event of a catastrophic problem, the Titan's safety system is supposed to slowly resurface it. That might not have happened as crews have searched about 10,000 square feet of ocean surface.
The Bahamian research vessel, Deep Energy, arrived on scene around 7 a.m. Tuesday and began remotely operated vehicle operations.
The wreckage of the Titanic is about 13,000 feet under the surface.
"I would like to be proven wrong, but I'm not super optimistic, just because it's a very hard problem," said University of Rhode Island Oceanography Professor Christopher Roman. "If it's on the sea floor, things get a lot more difficult. There are not really efficient ways to survey the sea floor and find it."
If the Titan can be found, some experts suggest an underwater robot could be used to hook it to a cable to hoist it to the surface.
Much of the gear needed to attempt a rescue 2½ miles deep on its way to St. John's, Newfoundland. Military cargo planes are loading up with privately owned deep-sea submersible, and the U.S. Navy is sending it's deep-sea salvage rig. However, it could take days to get them positioned in the North Atlantic.
"All these things take time and are not easy," Roman said. "That's the unfortunate truth."
OceanGate Expeditions released a statement about its missing submersible.
For some time, we have been unable to establish communications with one of our submersible exploration vehicles which is currently visiting the wreck site of the Titanic. Our entire focus is on the wellbeing of the crew and every step possible is being taken to bring the five crew members back safely. We are deeply grateful for the urgent and extensive assistance we are receiving from multiple government agencies and deep-sea companies as we seek to reestablish contact with the submersible. We pray for the safe return of the crew and passengers, and we will provide updates as they are available."
The search is taking place about 900 miles off Cape Cod, in the water and from above with C-130 aircrafts. Rescue Coordination Center Halifax provided a P8 Poseidon aircraft is a part of the search, which has underwater detection capabilities.
"We're making the best use of every moment of that time to locate the vessel," Mauger said on Monday.