More emergency assistance is being dispatched to locate the missing Titan submersible, believed to have mere hours of oxygen supply remaining for its crew. Communication was lost with the submersible on Sunday, approximately 435 miles south of St John’s, Newfoundland, while on a journey to the Titanic shipwreck off the coast of Canada.
By Wednesday afternoon, it was estimated that only about 20 hours of oxygen were left in the vessel, indicating a likely depletion by Thursday morning. Richard Garriott de Cayeux, president of The Explorers Club, has confirmed the dispatch of support to aid the search for the vessel, which has British billionaire adventurer and founding member of the Board of Trustees of The Explorers Club, Hamish Harding, onboard.
Garriott de Cayeux, however, criticised the delay in getting the necessary help accepted. He penned a statement on Twitter, stating: “Thanks for all your support and hard work on the rescue operations for our friends aboard Titan. I believe we have importantly improved the odds of a positive outcome through our advice, volunteering of services and equipment, and even the political pressure we continue to bring to bear. All has been needed. All continues to be needed.”
He further elaborated on the ongoing efforts, “Magellan is en route (should have been accepted sooner), we are still trying to get side scan sonar (should have been accepted sooner), and still working on ships to transport equipment and other details. We continue to come together for our friends, their families and the ideals of The Explorers Club, and the cause of safe scientific exploration of extreme environments. There is good cause for hope and we are making it more hopeful.”
The remotely operated vehicle (ROV) provided by Magellan, capable of diving up to 6,000m deep, was used to scan the Titanic wreckage last year. However, it may take up to 48 hours to reach the current search area, where it will aid in locating the missing submersible.
The 6.7m-long vessel from OceanGate Expeditions was reportedly equipped with a 96-hour oxygen supply for emergencies. Along with Harding, UK-based businessman Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman Dawood, OceanGate’s CEO and founder Stockton Rush, and French submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet are also onboard the craft.
The US coast guard is leading the international rescue effort, which was intensified after detecting underwater sounds on Tuesday and again on Wednesday. The cause of the noise, however, remains undetermined by experts. Deep-sea explorer Dr David Gallo believes these sounds are a positive sign and could only be from the vessel due to the 30-minute intervals between sounds.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain, Dr Gallo said, “In this case, the noises are repetitive, every half hour I believe. Three different aircraft heard them in their sensors at the same time and it went on for two days-plus. It’s still going on apparently. There’s not a lot in the natural world we can think of that would do that every 30-minute cycle. We have to, at this point, assume that that’s the submarine and move quickly to that spot, locate it and get robots down there to verify that is where the submarine is. They’ve got to go fully ready as if that was the sub because it takes a while to locate it and get it up to the surface, it takes hours.”
One of the vessels aiding the search is the French research vessel L’Atalante, equipped with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), Victor 6000, capable of lifting the Titan to the surface. The search area has been expanded, covering approximately 10,000 square miles on the surface and 2.5 miles deep underwater.
Five surface vessels were deployed by the coast guard to search for Titan on Wednesday, with an expected increase to ten by Thursday, according to Captain Jamie Frederick at a Wednesday press conference.
Captain Frederick said, “What I can tell you is, we’re searching in the area where the noises were detected, and we’ll continue to do so and we hope that when we’re able to get additional ROVs which will be there in the morning, the intent will be to continue to search in those areas where the noises were detected, and if they’re continuing to be detected, and then put additional ROVs down on the last known position where the search was originally taking place.”
When asked about the nature of the mission, Captain Frederick emphasised, “This is a search-and-rescue mission 100%, we are smack dab in the middle of search and rescue and will continue to put every available asset that we have in an effort to find the Titan and the crew members.”
Titan is presumed to be approximately 900 miles east and 400 miles south of Newfoundland. The exact depth at which the vessel lies is unknown, with the seabed in the region approximately 3,800m below the surface.
Safety concerns have been raised about the vessel after it was revealed earlier in the week that a former OceanGate employee had voiced concerns over "safety and quality control issues regarding the Titan to OceanGate executive management." David Lochridge, OceanGate’s ex-director of marine operations, asserted in a court document from August 2018 that he was wrongfully dismissed after expressing concerns over the company's alleged "refusal to conduct critical, non-destructive testing of the experimental design."
On Wednesday, Kathleen Cosnett, a cousin of Mr Harding, criticised OceanGate for the eight-hour delay in notifying the authorities, telling the Telegraph, “It’s very frightening. It took so long for them to get going to rescue them, it’s far too long. I would have thought three hours would be the bare minimum.”
Despite these concerns, Sean Leet, co-founder and chairman of Horizon Maritime Services, which owns the Polar Prince mothership from which Titan was launched, defended OceanGate at a separate press conference on Wednesday. He affirmed, “OceanGate runs an extremely safe operation. Our full focus right now is getting that submersible located and getting those people brought back safely.”
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