On Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard estimated that the submarine had between 70 and 96 hours of emergency oxygen left. 24 Channels It has gathered in one material everything that is known about the disappearance of tourists and the ongoing search and rescue operation.

What happened

On Sunday morning, the Polar Prince ship approached the site of the Titanic disaster in the Atlantic Ocean. Hamish Harding, aboard the Titan submarine, wrote on Facebook that they plan to start the submarine’s dive at 04:00 local time.

• According to the Boston Coast Guard, which led the search operation, the five-man crew “flooded on Sunday morning, and the crew of the Polar Prince lost contact with them about an hour and 45 minutes after the ship sank.” At the time it was believed that the Titan submarine was about 1450 km off the coast of Cape Cod.
• The Coast Guard sent two C-130 Hercules aircraft to search the water surface, joined by a Canadian C-130 and a P8 equipped with underwater sonar. In addition, sonar buoys are deployed in this area. Rear Admiral Mauger emphasized that additional expertise is required in order to carry out a rescue operation in case the submarine is found underwater, and said that they expect help from the US Navy and the private sector.
• The Canadian Ministry of Defense confirmed that the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Kopit Hopson also participated in the search. Polar Prince, co-owned by Horizon Maritime, and a second ship, the Horizon Arctic, are also actively involved.

What is known about the crew

Three of the five people have been confirmed to be on Titan. To contain:

• Hamish Harding – 59-year-old British billionaire businessman and researcher,
• Shahzada David – Pakistani businessman,
• Solomon David – Son of a Pakistani businessman.

Last year, Harding announced he would join the expedition, noting that the crew included “a pair of legendary explorers, some of whom have made more than 30 dives on the Titanic since the 1980s.” Hamish Harding is President of Action Aviation, an international company headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, specializing in business aviation sales and operations.

• It is believed to be the French explorer. Paul-Henri Narjolet also on the ship. This was confirmed by the Facebook message Harding sent before the dive.
• Stockton RushThe CEO of OceanGate, a dive monitoring company, is also reportedly on board.

purpose of diving

Company OceanGate Expeditions It offers an eight-day expedition to explore the famous sunken Titanic, located 3,800 meters below the water surface in the Atlantic Ocean. Travel is very costly $250,000 per guest

“Titanic” is approximately 600 kilometers off the coast of Newfoundland and consists of two parts, bow and stern, separated from each other. The flood area is also filled with a large amount of rubble.

“Titanic” at the sinking (3D replica of the ship) / MAGELLAN

According to OceanGate, a full dive into the wreck, including ascent and descent, takes approximately. eight hours. Each expedition lasts eight days and consists of scientific goals such as examining the decay of the wreckage.

What is known about the Titan submarine

“Titan” is a five-seat submersible designed to dive to a depth of 4,000 meters and can travel at a speed of three knots, equivalent to about 5 kilometers per hour.

Submarine “Titan” / Photo OceanGate

In addition to transporting divers to the Titanic wreck site, it is used to survey and study the wreck site, research and collect data, film and media production, and test hardware and software for working in deep-sea environments.

“Titan”, according to the company, is equipped with modern lighting, sonar navigation system, as well as internal and external video and photographic equipment in 4K format. It also features a real-time hull monitoring system that uses sensors to analyze the effects of pressure changes during a dive to assess structural integrity. The system provides early warning to the pilot, allowing him to return to the surface safely.

During a trip to the Titanic wreck last year, CBS reporter David Pogue, accompanied by OceanGate representatives, read a disclaimer describing the submarine as an “experimental” ship. not approved by any regulatory bodyand risks of physical injury, disability, emotional trauma or death. OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush showed him the submersible and pointed out that it only had one button, and controlled by a video game controller.

The submarine is controlled by a game controller / Screenshot from a BBC video

Status of the rescue operation

It is reported that one of the crew of the submarine, which disappeared on the way to the Titanic on Tuesday morning, was contacted. Rory Golden, the first Irish diver to visit the sunken Titanic in 2000, posted a message on her Facebook page that she was fine.

Rory’s post doesn’t shed much light on the situation. It seems that the submarine is currently unable to surface on its own and all efforts are being made to safely get the vehicle and crew out of the water.