Missing submarine: Boston Coast Guard searching for crew exploring Titanic wreckage

BOSTON – Coast Guard crews from Boston are searching for a submarine with five people on board that went missing off the coast of southeast Canada on an expedition to explore the wreckage of the Titanic.

The 21-foot Titan submarine submerged Sunday morning. The crew of the Canadian research vessel Polar Prince lost contact with the submarine about 1 hour and 45 minutes into the dive, the Coast Guard said.  

Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said Monday afternoon that the submarine has a "96-hour sustainment capability."

"We're making the best use of every moment of that time to locate the vessel," Mauger said. "We are doing everything that we can do to make sure that we can locate and rescue those on board."

The wreckage of the Titanic is about 13,000 feet under the surface. Sonar on buoys and on ships will be used to listen for sounds underwater. 

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. 

"It is a remote area and it is a challenge to conduct a search in that remote area but we are deploying all available assets," Mauger said.

OceanGate Expeditions, a company that deploys manned submersibles for deep sea expeditions, recently said on its website and social media feeds that an expedition to the wreckage of the HMS Titanic, which lies about 400 miles off Newfoundland's coast, was "underway." 

In a statement on Monday, the company said it is "exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely."

"Our entire focus is on crewmembers in the submersible and their families," OceanGate said. "We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible. We are working toward the safe return of the crewmembers."

On Saturday, British businessman Hamish Harding shared on Facebook that he was among the group on the OceanGate expedition that had departed from St. Johns, Newfoundland, the day before, BBC News reported. "The team on the sub has a couple of legendary explorers, some of which have done over 30 dives to the RMS Titanic since the 1980s," Harding wrote. He said it was "likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023" due to weather conditions, and that the team planned to start dive operations at around 4 a.m. Sunday.

Harding is a veteran adventure tourist who traveled to space aboard a Blue Origin rocket last year.

Diver and explorer Rory Golden also posted about being on the Titanic expedition. In a Facebook post Monday afternoon, he wrote: "I'm OK. We are all focussed on board here for our friends."

He continued: "We have a situation that is now the part of a major Search and Rescue effort, being undertaken by major agencies. That is where our focus is right now. 

"The reaction and offers of help globally is truly astonishing, and only goes to show the real goodness in people at a time like this." 

David Gallo, an oceanographer who has taken part in robotic expeditions to the Titanic, spoke to WBZ-TV's Louisa Moller about what it's like to travel to the wreckage at the bottom of the ocean. He said that "as you sink down it goes from light blue, to dark blue, to deeper blue, to pitch black."

"It's a different planet," he said. "Titanic is about two miles deep and when you go there you are leaving the world of sun behind and entering a totally unfamiliar world."

Gallo is familiar with the researchers who are on board this OceanGate trip.

"It doesn't seem real yet. It will hit me a little bit later on about what this all might mean," he said.

Earlier this month, OceanGate said on Twitter that it was using satellite company Starlink to help maintain communications with its expedition on the Titanic voyage.

"Despite being in the middle of the North Atlantic, we have the internet connection we need to make our Titanic dive operations a success — thank you Starlink," the tweet said. 

The company's website advertises seven-night voyages to see the Titanic wreckage priced at $250,000.  

Gallo understands why people would want to risk the trip down to see the history for themselves. "Once it gets its tentacles into you, there's no turning back," Gallo said. "There are so many stories to be told, so many mysteries to be solved."

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