U.S. Coast Guard rescuers on Tuesday continued their race against time to find a tourist submarine missing two days ago that was organizing a trip to watch the wreck of the underwater Titanic.
US media reported that the submarine went missing on Sunday, with 5 people on board in the North Atlantic, and the rescue team faces a range of severe logistical challenges, including overwhelming pressure in the depths of the ocean.
The submarine Titan was in the area to explore the wreck of the Titanic when it lost contact Sunday morning with a chartered research vessel at the dive site.
"Folks have been working around the clock to mobilize gear to get it to the site and to participate in the search for this submersible."
U.S. Coast Guard commander shares update on the search and rescue mission for missing Titanic tourist sub. https://t.co/3XRC8CE9oa pic.twitter.com/nAlXm2PoKz
— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 20, 2023
At the time, the ship, about 7 meters long, was halfway through the road with two and a half hours of diving left to reach the target, and the submarine is believed to be equipped with oxygen for only a few days.
Four of the five missing people in the vehicle have been identified so far: British businessman and explorer Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleiman, and Paul-Henri Nargullet, a French maritime expert who has dived more than 4 times at the site of the Titanic wreck.
Admiral John Moger of the U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday morning that an area the size of Connecticut has been searched so far, and that search capabilities have also been expanded and strengthened.
Even if Titan could be located in a remote patch of the ocean where the seabed is more than 3,<> meters below the surface, it would not be easy to recover the submarine, in part because even the best divers cannot safely walk more than a few hundred meters below the surface.
Why hasn't the US government authorised UK help with a vehicle that could be crucial? Seems odd to me when time is such an issue. pic.twitter.com/mnUwXBNj14
— Calum Hogan (@Cal92) June 20, 2023
To recover things from the seabed, the U.S. Navy uses a remotely operated vehicle that can reach about 6,30 meters of depth, but ships carrying such a vehicle do not usually move faster than about 600 kilometers per hour, and the wreck of the Titanic is located about <> kilometers off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
The Titan submarine has been operated by Oceangate Expeditions, which has been offering tours to the Titanic wreck since 2021, priced at up to $250,<> per person as part of the high-risk travel industry.
The company describes the trip on its website as an "exciting and unique travel experience".
The Titanic is a giant steamer that in 1912 collided with an iceberg while sailing from Britain to New York on its maiden voyage, killing about 1500,<> people.