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James Cameron has also spoken to CNN’s Anderson Cooper, saying how he feels “heartsick” from Thursday’s news. He said that when he heard on Monday that the Titan had lost communications and tracking data simultaneously, the only scenario he could come up with was “an implosion, a shockwave event so powerful that it actually took out a secondary system that has its own pressure vessel and its own battery power supply”, referring to the tracking system.
Cameron said that once he heard from the deep-submergence community that a loud noise had been picked up on Sunday, he told everyone that “we had lost comrades and I encouraged everybody to raise a glass in their honour.”
You can watch more of the interview here.
What we know so far
Five crew members aboard the submersible Titan were probably killed instantly in a “catastrophic implosion” as it descended to the wreck of the Titanic two miles below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, US Coast Guard officials said.
A large debris field containing five major pieces of the vessel were spotted by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) scouring the seabed near the Titanic wreck site 400 miles south of St John’s, Newfoundland, officials said. The debris was “consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber”, they said.
It is too early to tell exactly when the implosion occurred, officials said, noting that nothing was detected on sonar buoys deployed in the ocean in recent days.
Those aboard the submersible were British adventurer Hamish Harding, 58; French veteran Titanic explorer Paul Henri Nargeoloet, 77; British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son Suleman; and 61-year-old American Stockton Rush, co-founder of OceanGate, the company that operated the lost sub.
The US Navy says it recorded a sound “consistent with an implosion” just after the Titan was reported to have lost communications with its support ship on Monday. The navy passed this information onto the Coast Guard which continued the search because it did not consider the information to be “definitive”.
Banging noises heard earlier in the week have been attributed to other vessels operating in the area.
The friends and family of those killed have thanked those engaged in the search and paid respect to their loved ones. The families of Dawood said they were overwhelmed by the support they have received; Nargeoloet’s son remembered him as a larger than life figure and an aviation company operated by Harding’s family described him as a “larger than life figure”.
Officials could not confirm whether they will be able to recover the bodies of the crew members. The US Coast Guard will continue to investigate the site of the debris field, while vessels and personnel will be demobilised over the next 24 hours.
Film director James Cameron says he had concerns about the construction of the submersible but trusted the issues had been addressed by others. He says friends heard the bang that was later detected by the US navy.
Though some robots will remain on site to continue to collect evidence, the US Coast Guard has begun “demobilising personnel”
Updated
Officials say that now the fate of the Titan is known the search operation will be wound down though some vehicles will still be deployed to continue to gather evidence.
U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger told reporters on Thursday that robotic craft on the seabed will continue to gather evidence but it was not clear whether gathering remains will be possible given the nature of the accident and the extreme conditions.
We will begin to demobilize personnel and vessels from the scene over the course of the next 24 hours.
The Reuters report on the potential legal situation facing OceanGate going forward also highlights some interesting quirks about how maritime law works in these situations.
For instance, the report notes that under maritime law, owners of vessels involved in an accident may ask a court in the US to limit damages claims by family members to the current value of the vessel.
Since the Titan was destroyed, Reuters notes, “that would be zero”.
But to do this, OceanGate would need to prove it had no knowledge of potential defects with the submersible and would carry the burden of proof, which is a hard standard to meet.
Another maritime law, the Death on the High Seas Act, limits the amount people who were financially dependent on another who died in a naval accident to only a portion of their future earnings. Plaintiffs also cannot recover losses for pain and suffering.
Amazon has begun to clear bad-taste reviews of the game controller used to steer the lost Titan sub.
Users began posting black-humour reviews of the controller to Amazon after news about the missing sub broke including images showing a Logitech F710 game controller used to control the vessel.
It is not unusual for game controllers to be used to pilot drones, ROVs, and sometimes vessels but users have posted reviews critical about its role in steering submarines.
Now the fate of the sub is known, the BBC reports that Amazon has begun deleting these reviews as they do not comply with community guidelines.
Tributes have poured in for the five people who are now believed to have been instantly killed in a “catastrophic implosion” of the Titan submersible during its dive to the Titanic.
On Thursday, after days of aerial and underwater searches, a robotic diving vehicle deployed from a Canadian ship discovered a debris field from the submersible Titan on the seabed 1,600 feet (488 metres) from the bow of the Titanic.
Five major fragments of the 22-foot (6.7-metre) Titan were located in the debris field left from its disintegration, including the vessel’s tail cone and two sections of the pressure hull, Coast Guard officials said.
“The debris field here is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vehicle,” Rear Admiral John Mauger of the US coast guard said.
The Titan, operated by the US-based company OceanGate Expeditions, had been missing since it lost contact with its surface support ship on Sunday morning about an hour and 45 minutes into what should have been a two-hour dive to the world’s most famous shipwreck.
The White House said the loved ones of the five men had endured a “harrowing ordeal” over the past week.
For more on the reactions to this grim tragedy, read the full report by Guardian International’s site editor Graham Russell.
John Nathanial Paschall, stepson of famed French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet says he “thought nothing of it” in the lead up to the trip owing to his step-father’s past experience visiting the wreck of the Titanic.
Speaking to MSNBC, Paschall said he and other families have been shocked by the news of the fate of the Titan.
We’ve been living a nightmare this week. I think that goes for all the families. We can speak about PH but it has been truly is a nightmare of an experience. And I hope no one ever has to go through it again.
Paschall remembered his Nargeolet as a “really great step-father to me” with a big heart, a great sense of humour and a love of pranks.
There are so many ways I was just blown away by his love and care for me.
The ocean, Paschall said, was his step-father’s “home away from home”.
It was so cool. He talked about it so much, I almost became numb to it, in a way because of how much he talked about it. Oh, another expedition you get to go on. That’s so cool. But he was just such an inspiration in terms of the amount of work he put in and his fearlessness with everything.
His big question for OceanGate however was: Were the safety procedures followed as close as possible? Was anything going on?
James Cameron says his sources heard a 'loud bang' too
Filmmaker and underwater enthusiast James Cameron has told Reuters in a Zoom interview that his sources reported hearing a “loud bang” on Sunday, similar to the US Navy’s report that it heard an underwater “anomaly” near the wreck of the Titanic on Sunday.
Cameron said he knew the Titan submersible was lost from the start, suspecting it imploded at the time the Titan’s support vessel lost communications one hour and 45 minutes into the mission.
“We got confirmation within an hour that there had been a loud bang at the same time that the sub comms were lost. A loud bang on the hydrophone. Loss of transponder. Loss of comms. I knew what happened. The sub imploded,” Cameron said.
He added that he told colleagues in an email on Monday, “We’ve lost some friends,” and, “It’s on the bottom in pieces right now.” The five who died mark the first deep-sea fatalities for the industry, Cameron said.
Updated
Former US President Barrack Obama has contrasted the media attention on the Titan sub with that given to the loss of 700 asylum seekers who died in near Pylos, Greece.
Obama was speaking at an event with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation where he pointed out the disparity.
You think about what’s happening this week. there’s a potential tragedy unfolding with a submarine that is getting, you know ,minute to minute coverage, all around the world And it’s understandable because we all want and pray for those folks to be rescued.
But the fact that’s got more attention than 700 people who sank is –- that’s an untenable situation.
Impressive remarks from @BarackObama today at @SNForg as he courageously draws a parallel between the media's focus on the #TitanicSubmarine and the tragic loss of approximately 700 asylum seekers in a recent shipwreck near #Pylos | #RefugeeWeek #Titanic pic.twitter.com/6cIqqJ8XAk
— Makis Mylonas (@MylonasMakis) June 22, 2023
The family of Pakistani-born businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman said they were “truly grateful” to all those involved in the rescue efforts.
“Their untiring efforts were a source of strength for us,” said the statement from Hussain and Kulsum Dawood, the parents of Shahzada Dawood.
The immense love and support we receive continues to help us to endure this unimaginable loss.
Details of their final rites will be announced soon, they said. Condolences came from Pakistan’s foreign ministry, government officials and friends, with TV stations halting their routine broadcasts to share the news about Dawood, who the vice-chair of the country’s largest conglomerate, Engro Corporation, and his son.
— Dawood Foundation (@DawoodTdf) June 22, 2023
Salman Sufi, an adviser to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, tweeted:
Very sad and unfortunate news. Prayers for the families of deceased. Mr Dawood and family are in our prayers.
In a statement, Engro Corporation said:
With heavy hearts and great sadness, we grieve the loss of our vice-chairman, Shahzada Dawood, and his beloved son, Suleman Dawood.
Film director James Cameron had long-held safety concerns over the design of the Titan submersible which used both titanium and carbon fibre.
He is part of the small and close-knit submersible community, or Manned Underwater Vehicle (MUV) industry. When he heard, as many in the industry had shared, that OceanGate Inc was making a deep-sea submersible with a composite carbon fiber and titanium hull, Cameron said he was skeptical.
I thought it was a horrible idea. I wish I’d spoken up, but I assumed somebody was smarter than me, you know, because I never experimented with that technology, but it just sounded bad on its face.
The cause of the Titan’s implosion has not been determined, but Cameron presumes the critics were correct in warning that a carbon fiber and titanium hull would enable delamination and microscopic water ingress, leading to progressive failure over time.
Cameron said that he believed as early as Monday that there had been a catastrophic failure on the submersible and told colleagues in an email that “We’ve lost some friends” and the sub is “on the bottom in pieces right now”.
The five who died mark the first deep-sea fatalities for the industry, Cameron said. He added that the industry standard is to make pressure hulls out of contiguous materials such as steel, titanium, ceramic or acrylic, which are better for conducting tests.
We celebrate innovation, right? But you shouldn’t be using an experimental vehicle for paying passengers that aren’t themselves deep ocean engineers.
Cameron said both the Titanic and the Titan tragedies were preceded by unheeded warnings. In the Titanic’s case, the captain sped across the Atlantic on a moonless night despite being told about icebergs.
Here were are again. And at the same place. Now there’s one wreck lying next to the other wreck for the same damn reason.
- Reuters
The family of Paul-Henri Nargeolet have also released a statement following the news describing French dive expert as an “extraordinary father and husband”.
The New York Times reports that the family thanked those involved in the search and rescue operation and gave their condolences to the family’s of the other men who died:
He is a man who will be remembered as one of the greatest deep-sea explorers in modern history. When you think of the Titanic and all we know about the ship today, you will think of Paul-Henri Nargeolet and his legendary work.
But what we will remember him most for is his big heart, his incredible sense of humor and how much he loved his family. We will miss him today and every day for the rest of our lives.”
The Dawood family have released a statement after news of the fate of the Titan broke. Shahzada Dawood, 48 and his son Suleman, 19 were on board.
Here is the full statement as reported by the BBC:
Our thoughts are with the victims of this tragedy, one which has been followed around the world.
As with any tragedy of this magnitude, it brings out the best and worst in people.
Some go out of their way to contribute and support, others use these moments for personal gains. How one behaves in such circumstances reveals more about their own character than anything else.
The family remains overwhelmed with the love and support that it has received and is grateful to the those who showcased the best in humanity.
Updated
The fate of the five people onboard the Titan has been covered by the British newspapers.
The Times of London featured photos of the five victims on its front page:
THE TIMES: Mortgage misery for millions #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/uuaFQBSh69
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) June 22, 2023
The Mirror said they were “lost to the deep”:
MIRROR: Lost to the deep #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/Uw5Ob4UOi5
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) June 22, 2023
The Daily Mail’s headline said “The Titanic claims five more lives”:
DAILY MAIL: The Titanic claims five more lives #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/wdn5DfeOE0
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) June 22, 2023
The Independent said “Sub search ends in tragedy”:
INDEPENDENT DIGITAL: Sub search ends in tragedy #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/JxE6d0dSRM
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) June 22, 2023
The company that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic shipwreck, is mourning the loss of Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who was among five people killed aboard the Titan submersible when it imploded this week.
In a statement on Thursday the company described Nargeolet — known as “PH” and a long-term employee of the company, RMS Titanic Inc – as an “inspirational leader”.
The maritime world has lost an iconic and inspirational leader in deep-sea exploration, and we have lost a dear and treasured friend.
Nargeolet’s father was previously its CEO.
Friend and former colleague Matthew Tulloch said Nargeolet loved his work from the time they collaborated in the 1990s up until Nargeolet’s death.
I never got the impression that he was looking forward to retirement. You sort of think of people as they retire, then they can go on and do things that they love to do. This was exactly that for him — I can’t think of anything that I’m aware of that he would enjoy doing more than traveling around and sharing information and his experiences with people.
Here's what we know
Five crew members aboard the submersible Titan were probably killed instantly in a “catastrophic implosion” as it descended to the wreck of the Titanic two miles below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, US Coast Guard officials said.
A large debris field containing five major pieces of the vessel were spotted by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) scouring the seabed near the Titanic wreck site 400 miles south of St John’s, Newfoundland, officials said. The debris was “consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber”, they said.
It is too early to tell exactly when the implosion occurred, officials said, noting that nothing was detected on sonar buoys deployed in the ocean in recent days.
Those aboard the submersible were British adventurer Hamish Harding, 58; French veteran Titanic explorer Paul Henri Nargeolet, 77; British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son Suleman; and 61-year-old American Stockton Rush, co-founder of OceanGate, the company that operated the lost sub.
Officials could not confirm whether they will be able to recover the bodies of the crew members. The US Coast Guard will continue to investigate the site of the debris field, while vessels and personnel will be demobilised over the next 24 hours.
The US navy detected an ‘anomaly’ that was likely the Titan’s implosion. The navy reportedly reviewed acoustic data after the submersible went missing and detected an acoustic anomaly that was consistent with an implosion.
Updated
According to Reuters, the liability waivers signed by passengers aboard the Titan may not shield OceanGate from lawsuits.
Reuters reports:
Waivers are not always ironclad, and it is not uncommon for judges to reject them if there is evidence of gross negligence or hazards that were not fully disclosed. “If there were aspects of the design or construction of this vessel that were kept from the passengers or it was knowingly operated despite information that it was not suitable for this dive, that would absolutely go against the validity of the waiver,” said personal injury attorney and maritime law expert Matthew D Shaffer, who is based in Texas. OceanGate could argue it was not grossly negligent and that the waivers apply because they fully described the dangers inherent in plumbing the deepest reaches of the ocean in a submersible the size of a minivan.
The degree of any potential negligence and how that might impact the applicability of the waivers will depend on the causes of the disaster, which are still under investigation.
“There are so many different examples of what families might still have claims for despite the waivers, but until we know the cause we can’t determine whether the waivers apply,” said personal injury lawyer Joseph Low of California.
Updated
US navy detected an ‘anomaly’ that was likely the Titan's implosion
The AP reports:
The Navy went back and analyzed its acoustic data after the Titan submersible was reported missing Sunday. That anomaly was ‘consistent with an implosion or explosion in the general vicinity of where the Titan submersible was operating when communications were lost,’ according to the senior Navy official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive acoustic detection system. The Navy passed on the information to the Coast Guard, which continued its search.
Updated
The Associated Press and CBS have confirmed the Wall Street Journal’s reporting that the US navy detected the submersible’s implosion.
The Guardian has yet to confirm. Stay tuned for more …
Updated
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush’s ultimate aim – aiding oil and gas extraction.
The AP reports:
OceanGate, the company he founded in 2009, sought not just to profit from bringing wealthy adventurers to sites such as the wreck of the Titanic, but to help scientists and researchers unravel oceanic mysteries by giving them better access to the sea floor than ever before – in vessels that would break the boundaries of how submersibles are developed.
While his company was initially focused on underwater tourism, his long-term aim was to work with oil and gas companies. Fast Company reported in a 2017 piece:
Eventually, as the pool of wealthy adventure-minded travelers willing to take a dive in a sub dwindles, Rush hopes that his submarine technology will be well proven, and he can start to contract with the biggest of the high rollers: oil and gas companies. ‘The biggest resource is oil and gas, and they spend about $16 billion a year on robots to service oil and gas platforms,’ he explains. ‘But oil and gas [companies] don’t take new technology. They want it proven, they want it out there.’
The Titanic trips help make the case, showing those oil and gas companies that his technology works, while making a profit – something the company hasn’t quite done yet. ‘We’ll be profitable with the Titanic trips,’ says Rush. ‘The Titanic is where we go from startup to ongoing business.’
Updated
The Wall Street Journal reports that a “top secret US navy acoustic detection system designed to spot enemy submarines first heard the Titan sub implosion hours after the submersible began its mission”.”
The Navy began listening for the Titan almost as soon as the sub lost communications, according to a US defense official. Shortly after its disappearance, the US system detected what it suspected was the sound of an implosion near the debris site discovered Thursday and reported its findings to the commander on site, US defense officials said.
‘The US Navy conducted an analysis of acoustic data and detected an anomaly consistent with an implosion or explosion in the general vicinity of where the Titan submersible was operating when communications were lost,’ a senior US Navy official told The Wall Street Journal in a statement. ‘While not definitive, this information was immediately shared with the Incident Commander to assist with the ongoing search and rescue mission.’
The Navy asked that the specific system used not be named, citing national security concerns.
Updated
The family and aviation company owned by 58-year old Hamish Harding has released the following statement in response to the billionaire’s death in the OceanGate Titan’s implosion:
Today, we are united in grief with the other families who have also lost their loved ones on the Titan submersible.
Hamish Harding was a loving husband to his wife and a dedicated father to his two sons, whom he loved deeply. To his team in Action Aviation, he was a guide, an inspiration, a support, and a Living Legend.
He was one of a kind and we adored him. He was a passionate explorer – whatever the terrain – who lived his life for his family, his business and for the next adventure. What he achieved in his lifetime was truly remarkable and if we can take any small consolation from this tragedy, it’s that we lost him doing what he loved.
He will leave a gap in our lives that can never be filled.
We know that Hamish would have been immensely proud to see how nations, experts, industry colleagues and friends came together for the search and we extend our heartfelt thanks for all their efforts.
On behalf of the Harding family and Action Aviation, we would like to politely request privacy at this incredibly difficult time.”
Updated
The Pakistani foreign ministry has issued its condolences to the family of Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, as well as the other families of the victims who died in the implosion.
“Our deepest condolences to the Dawood family and the family of other passengers on the sad news about the fate of Titanic submersible in the North Atlantic. We appreciate the multinational efforts over the last several days in search of the vessel,” the ministry said.
Our deepest condolences to the Dawood family and the family of other passengers on the sad news about the fate of Titanic submersible in the North Atlantic. We appreciate the multinational efforts over the last several days in search of the vessel.
— Spokesperson 🇵🇰 MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) June 22, 2023
19-year old victim’s aunt: He was “terrified” prior to trip
The aunt of 19-year-old Suleman Dawood told NBC that her nephew was “terrified” of the expedition prior to embarking on it.
Azmeh Dawood, the older sister of the Pakistani billionaire businessman Shahzada Dawood told the outlet that Suleman had told a relative that he “wasn’t very up for it” and felt “terrified” about the journey.
“I am thinking of Suleman, who is 19, in there, just perhaps gasping for breath ... It’s been crippling, to be honest,” Azmeh said.
“I feel disbelief … It’s an unreal situation,” she said, adding, “I feel like I’ve been caught in a really bad film, with a countdown, but you didn’t know what you’re counting down to … I personally have found it kind of difficult to breathe thinking of them.”
Azmeh also talked about her younger brother Shahzada who also died in the implosion, saying, “He was my baby brother … I held him up when he was born.”
She added that her brother was “absolutely obsessed” with the Titanic from an early age and that he loved visiting museum exhibitions on the wreck.
Updated
In an old undated video posted online following news of the implosion, the CEO of OceanGate Stockton Rush can be seen admitting that he broke some rules to create the submersible.
“I’d like to be remembered as an innovator. I think it was Gen McArthur that said, ‘You’re remembered for the rules you break.’
I have broken some rules to make this. I think I’ve broken them with logic and good engineering behind me. The carbon fibre and titanium there is a rule that you don’t do that. Well, I did,” Stockton said, referring to a combination of two materials that can cause a galvanic corrosion.
CEO Stockton Rush: "I have broken some rules to make this. (…) The carbon fibre and titanium there is a rule that you don’t do that. Well, I did.“#Titanic #OceanGate #Titan pic.twitter.com/XuUAMuCJ2v
— stonking.com (@stonking) June 22, 2023
Updated
Titanic director James Cameron: "I'm struck by the similarity" of both incidents
Titanic film director James Cameron who has made 33 dives to the wreck site has responded to the news of OceanGate Titan’s submersible imploding.
In an interview with ABC, Cameron said:
I’ve been down there many times … I know the wreck site very well … I understand the engineering problems associated with building this type of vehicle and all the safety protocols …
This is a mature art and many people in the community were concerned about the sub … I’m struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field on a moonless night and many people died as a result.”
‘Titanic’ director James Cameron on the ‘catastrophic implosion’ of Titan submersible: “I’m struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field." pic.twitter.com/vO8JkCXS5f
— ABC News (@ABC) June 22, 2023
Updated
Summary of the day so far
Five crew members aboard the submersible Titan were probably killed instantly in a “catastrophic implosion” as it descended to the wreck of the Titanic two miles below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, US Coast Guard officials said.
A large debris field containing five major pieces of the vessel were spotted by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) scouring the seabed near the Titanic wreck site 400 miles south of St John’s, Newfoundland, officials said. The debris was “consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber”, they said.
It is too early to tell exactly when the implosion occurred, officials said, noting that nothing was detected on sonar buoys deployed in the ocean in recent days.
Those aboard the submersible were British adventurer Hamish Harding, 58; French veteran Titanic explorer Paul Henri Nargeoloet, 77; British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son Suleman; and 61-year-old American Stockton Rush, co-founder of OceanGate, the company that operated the lost sub.
Officials could not confirm whether they will be able to recover the bodies of the crew members. The US Coast Guard will continue to investigate the site of the debris field, while vessels and personnel will be demobilised over the next 24 hours.
We have the latest info here at a glance:
Updated
Richard Garriott, president of the Explorers Club, of which Hamish Harding and Paul-Henri Nargeolet were both members, has said he is “heartbroken for the families, friends and colleagues of those who were lost”.
The statement reads:
Our friends and fellow Explorers Club members Hamish Harding and Paul-Henri Nargeolet are lost, along with Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, while trying to reach the RMS Titanic.
He said the club is “grateful for all our members and the scientific and exploration community around the world who have mobilized personnel and resources to support the search and rescue”.
Garriott described Harding as a “dear friend” to himself and the Explorers Club. “He holds several world records and has continued to push dragons off maps both in person and through supporting expeditions and worthy causes,” he says.
Harding and Nargeolet were “both drawn to explore … in the name of meaningful science for the betterment of mankind”, he added.
We’re heartbroken for the families, friends and colleagues of those who were lost. Their memories will be a blessing and will continue to inspire us in the name of science and exploration.
With Deepest Condolences - Loss of the Titan pic.twitter.com/Jj3KnujtV9
— ExplorersClub (@ExplorersClub) June 22, 2023
Updated
The UK’s foreign secretary, James Cleverly, has paid tribute to the five crew members – including three British citizens – who died on board the Titan sub.
He posted to Twitter:
Tragic news that those on the Titan submersible, including three British citizens, have been lost following an international search operation.
The UK government is closely supporting the families affected and expresses our deepest condolences.
Tragic news that those on the Titan submersible, including three British citizens, have been lost following an international search operation.
— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) June 22, 2023
The UK government is closely supporting the families affected and expresses our deepest condolences.
Vessels and personnel to be demobilised over next 24 hours, says US Coast Guard
US Coast Guard officials said the next phase would be to make sure that the families of those crew members on board the Titan sub “have an understanding as fast as we can of what happened and begin to find some closure”.
Teams will continue to investigate the site of the debris field, officials said.
Rear Adm Mauger said there were nine vessels on the scene as well as medical personnel and other technicians.
We will begin to demobilise personnel and vessels from the scene over the course of the next 24 hours. But we’re going to continue remote operations on the sea floor.
He said he did not have a timeline for when the remote operations on the seafloor would be stopped.
Updated
It is too early to know when the “catastrophic implosion” took place, Rear Adm Mauger says.
We know that as we’ve been prosecuting this search over the course of the last 72 hours.
Beyond that, we’ve had sonar buoys in the water nearly continuously and have not detected any catastrophic events when those buoys have been in the water.
Size of the debris field consistent with implosion, says expert
Asked if the sub could have collided with the Titanic, Carl Hartsville of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution says the wreck lies approximately 1,600 feet from the Titanic.
That area does not have any debris of Titanic, he says.
It is a smooth bottom there. To my knowledge and anything I’ve seen there’s no Titanic wreckage in that area.
The debris found of the Titan sub lies “200 plus metres” from the bow of the Titanic wreck, he says.
It’s consistent with the location of last communication for an implosion in the water column. The size of the debris field is consistent with that implosion in the water column.
Updated
R Adm John Mauger says 'catastrophic implosion' of vessel would have been picked up by sonar
Rear Adm John Mauger says there “doesn’t appear to be any connection” between the underwater noises detected in the search-and-rescue mission and the location on the seafloor.
This was a “catastrophic implosion” of the vessel which would have “generated a significant… sound down there that the sonar buoys would have picked up”, he says.
Updated
Asked what the prospects are for recovering the bodies of the crew members, Rear Adm John Mauger replies:
We’ll continue to work and continue to search the area, but I don’t have an answer for prospects at this time.
This is an “incredibly unforgiving environment”, he adds.
Updated
Five different pieces of debris signalled it was Titan sub, says expert
Paul Hankin, an undersea expert, says rescuers found “five different major pieces of debris that told us that it was the remains of the Titan”.
The initial thing we found was the nose cone... then we found a large debris field. Within that large debris field, we found the front end bell of the pressure hull. That was the first indication that there was a catastrophic event.
Shortly after, we found a second smaller debris field within that debris field. We found the other end of the press hull that…basically comprised of the totality of that pressure chamber...
We will do our best to fully map out what’s down there.
Updated
Rear Adm John Mauger says it is an “incredibly complex” case and that the team is still working to develop the details for the timeline.
The ROVs are operating in a complex environment on the seafloor over two miles beneath the surface, he says.
Rear Adm John Mauger says he hopes that this discovery provides some solace to the families of the crew on board the Titan sub during this difficult time.
He says the team have been in close contact with the British and French consuls general to ensure that they are fully apprised.
The US Coast Guard are “grateful for the rapid mobilisation of experts on the undersea search and rescue” and “incredibly grateful for this full spectrum of international assistance that’s been provided”.
The ROVs will remain on scene and continue to gather information, he says.
US Coast Guard confirms crew of Titan sub have died after 'catastrophic' event
Rear Adm John Mauger, the First Coast Guard District commander says a remotely operated vehicle from Horizon Arctic discovered the tail cone of the Titan sub approximately 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic on the seafloor.
The debris is “consistent with a catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber”, he says.
Upon this determination, we immediately notified the families on behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command. I offer my deepest condolences to the families.
Updated
Here’s the full statement by OceanGate, as reported by the BBC:
We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost.
These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans. Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.
This is an extremely sad time for our dedicated employees who are exhausted and grieving deeply over this loss. The entire OceanGate family is deeply grateful for the countless men and women from multiple organizations of the international community who expedited wide-ranging resources and have worked so very hard on this mission.
We appreciate their commitment to finding these five explorers, and their days and nights of tireless work in support of our crew and their families.
This is a very sad time for the entire explorer community, and for each of the family members of those lost at sea.
We respectfully ask that the privacy of these families be respected during this most painful time.
OceanGate says they believe passengers on missing sub 'have sadly been lost'
Oceangate have released a statement saying that they believe the passengers of the Titan submersible have “sadly been lost,” CNN and BBC are reporting.
The statement reads:
We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost.
Updated
The US Coast Guard is scheduled to hold a briefing in about 15 minutes, where officials will “discuss findings from the Horizon Arctic’s ROV on the sea floor near the Titanic”, according to a statement.
It comes after the US Coast Guard announced that rescue teams trying to find the missing submersible Titan reported finding a “debris field” within the search area beneath the surface of the Atlantic.
The briefing will be held by Rear Adm John Mauger, the First Coast Guard District commander, and Capt Jamie Frederick, the First Coast Guard District response coordinator.
We will be following it live here.
The “landing frame” and a “rear cover” allegedly included in the “debris field” found in the search for the Titan sub could have been from a previous Titan dive, a spokesperson for the Explorers Club has said.
It comes after rescue expert David Mearns said he was part of a WhatsApp group involving The Explorers Club that said the debris found in the Titan search area was a “landing frame” and a “rear cover” of the missing vessel. These claims have not been confirmed.
Trevor Hale, a spokesperson for the Explorers Club told The Independent that the message that the club’s president, Richard Garriot, sent to others in a group was misrepresented.
The co-founder of OceanGate, the company that operates the missing sub, said there may have been an “instantaneous implosion” of the vessel.
Guillermo Söhnlein, who founded OceanGate with Stockton Rush, who is on board the Titan, told BBC News:
I know that our protocol for lost comms is for the pilot to surface the sub. From the beginning I always thought that’s probably what Stockton would have done.
In which case it becomes very difficult to find the sub because the surface ship wouldn’t have known it was coming up and wouldn’t have known where to look.
My biggest fear through this whole thing watching the operations unfold is that they’re floating around on the surface and they’re just very difficult to find.
Söhnlein, who was speaking as news of the discovery of a debris field near the Titanic came in, said there was a possibility there had been a catastrophe.
What I do know is regardless of the sub, when you’re operating at depth the pressure is so great on any sub that if there is a failure it would be an instantaneous implosion. If that’s what happened that’s what would have happened four days ago.
Updated
A company whose remotely operated vehicle (ROV) found the debris field near the Titanic reportedly said its focus now is on “the families of those on the Titan and for their tragic loss”.
Pelagic Research Services earlier confirmed to CNN that its ROV, which was the first to conduct a search for the missing OceanGate sub on the sea floor, found the debris field.
Sky News reported that a statement on the company’s website, which has since been deleted, reads:
PRS want to express our full gratitude for the incredible, coordinated rescue response of everyone involved in this search and rescue mission. Our focus right now is on the families of those on the Titan and for their tragic loss.
There has been no official statement regarding any deaths from the US Coast Guard or unified command involved in the search of the missing sub.
An underwater researcher has said the search for the Titan shows the desperate need for more deep-sea technology in the US.
Nick Rotker, from the non-profit research and development company Mitre, said “more robust capability” was needed to be able to cover large areas of ocean.
Rotker said:
The issue is we don’t have a lot of capability or systems that can go to the depth this vessel was going to.
Several ROVs are in the North Atlantic waters to search for the missing submersible. One found a debris field near the Titanic wreckage that could be linked to the Titan.
One of the concerns for search teams will be whether, if they find the submersible intact, the oyxgen reserves were sufficient to keep the missing crew alive.
Jamie Pringle, an expert in forensic geosciences at Keele University, in England, told AP that: “The lack of oxygen is key now; even if they find it, they still need to get to the surface and unbolt it.”
Rescue expert claims debris is 'landing frame' and 'rear cover' of submersible
A rescue expert has told Sky News that the debris found in the Titan search area was a “landing frame” and a “rear cover” of the missing vessel.
David Mearns said he was part of a WhatsApp group involving The Explorers Club and that his information came from the president of the club.
These claims have not been confirmed. More details could emerge in a US Coast Guard press conference scheduled for 3pm ET (7pm GMT).
The latest pictures from the news wires show one of the Royal Air Force planes has landed at St John’s international airport in Newfoundland, Canada – bringing with it more search equipment.
One picture showed cargo being unloaded from the plane. Two RAF planes were sent after the British force was asked for assistance in the hunt for the missing Titan submersible.
A rescue expert has said US Coast Guard officials would not “use phrases like debris field unless there’s no chance of recovery of the men alive”.
David Mearns, who is a friend of two of the men aboard the missing sub – British billionaire Hamish Harding and French sub pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet, told Sky News:
A debris field implies there’s a break up of the submersible and at that depth, because we know that they lost communications at around 3,300m… so that really indicates what is the worst case scenario which is a catastrophic failure, an implosion.
“The only saving grace” if it was the case of an implosion is that “it would have been immediate”, he added.
Literally in milliseconds, and the men would have had no idea what was happening.
Updated
A friend of Stockton Rush, who is on board the missing Titan sub, said the OceanGate CEO told him the weather was “very, very bad” in an email the day before the vessel went missing.
Arthur Loibl, 60, said he remained friends with Rush, 61, and another passenger on the missing sub, 77-year-old retired French navy commander Paul-Henri Nargeolet, after he himself travelled on the Titan in 2021.
Loibl told the Washington Post that he had just exchanged emails with Rush on Saturday about possibly seeing each other next year and how the expedition was going.
He said that the weather conditions were very, very bad.
He added that Rush had mentioned that the rough seasonal weather in Newfoundland had worsened conditions for the dives.
Loibl described his experience on a 2021 dive to the Titanic as “a kamikaze operation”. The lights were turned off during the 2.5-hour journey to and from the wreckage site, with a fluorescent glow stick providing the only light, he said.
Nobody told you what happened if the sub got lost because you’re not thinking of this.
He added that he agreed with some experts who have called for trips to the Titanic wreck to stop.
This way of diving down there has to be stopped forever.
Two Royal Air Force (RAF) plans have taken off to fly to St John’s in Canada, carrying specialist equipment and personnel to assist with the international search and rescue effort for the missing Titan submersible.
The C-17 Globemaster and A400M Atlas aircraft departed RAF Lossiemouth in north-east Scotland on Thursday.
The C-17 aircraft will transport “specialist commercial equipment” provided by Channel Islands-based deep water specialists Magellan, a No 10 spokesperson has confirmed.
Sources within the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the RAF received a request overnight for assistance with movement of additional commercial equipment, PA news reported.
The US Coast Guard will hold a press briefing at 3pm local time (8pm UK time) to share its latest findings from the search operation for the Titan sub.
It comes as the Coast Guard said a debris field was discovered within the search area by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) near the Titanic wreck. Experts within the unified command were evaluating the information, the Coast Guard said.
'Debris field' discovered within search area by ROV, says US Coast Guard
The US Coast Guard have said a debris field was discovered within the search area by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) near the Titanic wreck.
Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information, the Coast Guard said in a tweet.
A debris field was discovered within the search area by an ROV near the Titanic. Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information. 1/2
— USCGNortheast (@USCGNortheast) June 22, 2023
Updated
A clip by the ship-tracker MarineTraffic shows the movement of vessels involved in the search and rescue operation of the missing Titan sub in the North Atlantic from Tuesday to Thursday.
Vessels & specialist equipment from US, UK, Canada, and France have been dispatched to help search for the #Titan.
— MarineTraffic (@MarineTraffic) June 22, 2023
Using the MarineTraffic playback feature, we can see the vessels' movements over the past 48 hours.#marinetraffic #Titanic #OceanGate pic.twitter.com/cl6RLoPvoS
A marine geologist has likened the remotely operated vehicles’ (ROV) search for the missing Titan sub to “walking around a really big dark ballroom with a flashlight”.
Dr Rob Larter, from the British Antarctic Survey, said the two ROVs sent to the search site will only be able to see around five or 10 metres at a time.
The ROVs “only move relatively slowly, just a couple of miles an hour”, he told Sky News. He said:
Because they’re only relying on their own their own satellites, even if the visibility of the water is relatively good… you’re only going to see five or 10 metres at a time.
It really is like walking around a really big dark ballroom with a flashlight.
'You could be 10 or 20 metres away from it and not realise it'
— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 22, 2023
Marine geophysicist Dr Rob Larter explains why finding the missing submersible will be difficult, even with France's specialist robotic equipment.
Live updates: https://t.co/dKmIkD5kNV
📺 Sky 501 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/qJW7ezpHNK
A Canadian Navy ship carrying a medical team specialising in dive medicine has arrived on scene, according to a Canadian armed forces official.
The ship, which is also carrying a hyperbaric recompression chamber that can hold as many as six people, reached the area of the search operation at 9am local time on Thursday morning, CNN reported, citing an official from the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax of the Canadian Armed Forces.
Le NCSM Glace Bay offre les services d’une équipe médicale spécialisée en médecine de plongée, ainsi qu’une chambre de recompression hyperbare mobile pour six personnes.
— Halifax JRCC CCCOS (@hfxjrcc) June 22, 2023
British billionaire's family accuse OceanGate of taking 'far too long' to report disappearance
The family of British billionaire Hamish Harding, who is on board the missing Titan, has accused OceanGate of having taken “far too long” to report the sub’s disappearance.
Communications between the submersible and the surface vessel, Polar Prince, were lost at about 9.45am local time on Sunday, 1 hour and 45 minutes after starting its descent to the Titanic wreck. But it was not until 5.40pm local time that the US Coast Guard was made aware.
Kathleen Cosnett, a cousin of Harding, told 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.
Updated
Here are some pictures from the newswires of the headquarters of OceanGate, the company behind the missing Titan sub, in Everett, Washington.
Missing crew have longer 'time window available' than others believe, says OceanGate co-founder
The co-founder of OceanGate, the company that operates the missing sub, has broken his silence to say he believes the five crew members on board Titan have “longer than what most people think”.
Guillermo Söhnlein, who founded OceanGate with Stockton Rush, one of the passengers aboard the Titan, said he last spoke to Rush a couple of weeks before the expedition’s launch.
In a statement to Insider, Sohnlein, who is no longer involved with the company but remains a minority shareholder, said:
Today will be a critical day in this search and rescue mission, as the sub’s life support supplies are starting to run low.
I’m certain that Stockton and the rest of the crew realized days ago that the best thing they can do to ensure their rescue is to extend the limits of those supplies by relaxing as much as possible. I firmly believe that the time window available for their rescue is longer than what most people think. I continue to hold out hope for my friend and the rest of the crew.
He said he encouraged everyone to “remain hopeful” for getting the missing sub back safely and that he continued to “hold out hope” for his friend and the rest of the crew.
Updated
Rear Adm John Mauger of the US Coast Guard said he was “thrilled and pleased” to have a British submariner involved in the search operation.
Earlier we reported that Downing Street had confirmed that a Royal Navy submariner had joined the search for the missing Titan submersible.
The officer, Lt Cmdr Richard Kantharia, “has significant knowledge of submarine warfare and dived operations and so he will obviously be bringing that experience to the search and rescue team”, No 10 said.
Mauger, speaking to Sky News, said he “really appreciate[s] the support from UK submarine force”.
The US Coast Guard has provided an update on current weather conditions for search teams looking for the missing sub.
Rear Adm John Mauger of the US Coast Guard, who is leading the search for Titan, has described the conditions as “favourable” and said crews are “making the most of this weather window and the good conditions”.
Weather on scene: winds at 14 mph with gusts up to 19mph. Sea state is 4-5ft swells with an air temp of 50°f. #Titanic
— USCGNortheast (@USCGNortheast) June 22, 2023
The disappearance of the submersible will have affected the chances of future research being carried out at the wreck of the Titanic, according to an expert.
David Scott-Beddard, the CEO of Titanic exhibition company White Star Memories Ltd, told CNN that the incident has “without a doubt” impacted opportunities to visit and study the wreckage. He said:
The chances of any future research being carried out on the wreck of Titanic is extremely slim. Probably not in my lifetime.
The Titanic wreck is “one of those unreachable, unattainable things for most of us”, he said.
She sits majestically on the sea bed; (it’s) incredibly rare for a ship that sunk to be sitting upright.
Updated
Search teams 'remain hopeful at this point', says US Coast Guard
Rescue teams are continuing to carry out “an active search and rescue operation” for the missing Titan submersible, US Coast Guard officials said.
Rear Adm John Mauger, speaking to Sky News, said teams were making the most of the “favourable” weather conditions. He said:
While we’re cognizant of the time, and we’ve factored in a lot of data and information into the search, this is still an active search and rescue at this point.
We’re using the equipment that we have on at the bottom of the ROVS to expand our search capabilities.
Asked when rescuers might consider the situation is “beyond all hope”, Mauger said “there is a time and place for that discussion” but that the focus of the unified command team was “on using the capability that we have now on site to locate the people and the submersible”.
Rear Admiral John Mauger, First District Commander for the US Coast Guard, tells @JayneSeckerSky that they are grateful for all assistance in the search for the missing Titan sub
— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 22, 2023
"We remain hopeful"https://t.co/4560YhOK6P
📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/7GmvloNX6E
Teenager on board missing sub is student at university in Glasgow
Suleman Dawood, one of the five men missing on the submersible dive to visit the Titanic, has been identified as a university student in Glasgow.
The University of Strathclyde confirmed that Dawood, 19, was one of its students with Strathclyde Business School, and had just completed his first year.
“We are deeply concerned about Suleman, his father and the others involved in this incident,” a university spokesperson said.
Our thoughts are with their families and loved ones and we continue to hope for a positive outcome.
Dawood is the son of Shahzada Dawood, 48, a billionaire businessman who lives in Surbiton, south-west London, who is originally from Pakistan but now has British citizenship.
Suleman Dawood has a sister, Alina, and his mother has been named as Christine. The family had been living in Canada for several weeks before the dive.
Earlier this week a family statement described Suleman as a “big fan of science fiction literature and learning new things”, who was also keen on Rubik’s cubes and playing volleyball.
He had recently graduated from ACS International School Cobham in Surrey.
Updated
Robot vehicles deployed as Titan's oxygen supplies estimate to be exhausted
Here’s a look at the main developments of the morning:
Two remotely operated vehicles have been deployed as part of the search effort
According to US coast guard estimates, Titan’s 96 hours of breathable oxygen supplies are thought to be exhausted – although these are just estimates and much will depend on measure the passengers have taken to conserve air
Experts say it’s still unclear whether the submersible is on the surface on the seabed, and warn “weeks of intense survey” may be required to locate it
A British submariner and equipment from a UK firm will help the search for the missing submersible
Updated
Two remote-controlled deep-sea diving vehicles deployed
According to the US Coast Guard, two remotely operated vehicles have just been deployed in the search effort
The French vessel L'Atalante has just deployed their ROV. #Titanic
— USCGNortheast (@USCGNortheast) June 22, 2023
The Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic has deployed an ROV that has reached the sea floor and began its search for the missing sub. #Titanic
— USCGNortheast (@USCGNortheast) June 22, 2023
Updated
Ryan Ramsey, a former Royal Navy submarine captain, has described the current situation as “bleak” as the search-and-rescue operation continues for Titan after oxygen is thought to have run out aboard the submersible.
He told the PA news agency:
The outlook is bleak, that’s the only word for it, as this tragic event unfolds and almost the closing stages of where this changes from rescue to a salvage mission.
That doesn’t mean to say that the current ships and forces deployed won’t continue to keep looking.
They won’t stop for many days, I imagine, but the reality is if you base it off oxygen alone, then they’re out of oxygen.
Carbon dioxide is also a critical element to it as well as the cold. It would be a miracle if there were survivors from it.
Update: the ship carrying the Victor 6000 deep-sea robot has arrived at the Titan search zone, according to Ifremer, the state-run French ocean research institute that operates the robot. The research vessel Atalante is first using an echo-sounder to accurately map the seabed in order for the robot’s search to be more targeted, Ifremer said.
Updated
A British submariner and equipment from a UK firm will help the search for the missing Titan submersible, Downing Street has said.
A No 10 spokesman said: “At the request of US Coastguard, the UK has embedded a Royal Navy submariner to assist the search and rescue effort for the missing submarine.
The officer, Lt Cmdr Richard Kantharia, “has significant knowledge of submarine warfare and dived operations and so he will obviously be bringing that experience to the search and rescue team”.
The officer was on exchange with the US navy and has been seconded to the search and rescue team.
A British C-17 aircraft will transport “specialist commercial equipment” provided by Magellan to St John’s in Newfoundland to assist with the search-and-rescue effort.
(Via PA)
Updated
More on Victor 6000, the French robot that is on its way to help find Titan
A view shows the ROV (Remotely Operated underwater Vehicle) Victor 6000 in this undated photograph released by Ifremer. Olivier Dugornay - Ifremer - CCBY/Handout via REUTERS Photograph: Olivier Dugornay/IFREMER/Reuters
The unmanned robot can dive deeper than other equipment now at the site in the North Atlantic and has arms that can be remotely controlled to cut cables or perform other manoeuvres to release a stuck vessel, the machine’s operator said.
“Victor is not capable of lifting the submarine up on its own,” said Olivier Lefort, the head of naval operations at Ifremer, the state-run French ocean research institute which operates the robot. But he told Reuters the robot could help hook Titan to a ship with the capacity to lift it to the surface.
“Victor is able to do visual exploration with all the video equipment it has. It is also equipped with manipulating arms which could be used to extricate the sub, such as by sectioning cables or things that would be blocking it at the bottom,” he said.
Ifremer sent the Atalante ship with its robot at the request of the US navy. “This is the logic of seafarers. Our attitude was: We are close, we have to go,” Lefort said.
The robot is operated by a 25-strong crew. “We can work non-stop for up to 72 hours, we don’t need to stop at night,” he said.
Lefort added:
We don’t know what happened. The noises that were heard give us hope the submarine is on the seabed and that people are still alive, but other scenarios are possible. Even if hope is slim, we’ll go all the way.
(Via Reuters)
Experts caution against giving precise estimate of when breathable air may run out
Although calculations suggest Titan’s 96-hour supply of breathable air is about to run out, experts have emphasised that it is an imprecise estimate and could be extended if passengers have taken measures to conserve breathable air. It is also not known if they are still alive after the sub disappeared on Sunday morning.
Frank Owen, a submarine search-and-rescue expert, said the oxygen supply figure was a useful “target” for searchers but is only based on a “nominal amount of consumption”.
Owen said the diver on board the Titan was likely to be advising passengers to “do anything to reduce your metabolic levels so that you can actually extend this”.
Rescuers have rushed more ships and vessels to the site of the disappearance, hoping underwater sounds they detected for a second straight day might help narrow their search in the urgent, international mission.
But many obstacles still remain: from pinpointing the vessel’s location, to reaching it with rescue equipment, to bringing it to the surface – assuming it’s still intact. And all that has to happen before the passengers’ oxygen supply runs out. (Via AP)
Updated
A French research vessel carrying a deep-sea diving robot slowed down as it reached the search area for a missing submersible that was exploring the wreck of the Titanic, according to the Marine Traffic app.
Marine Traffic data showed the Atalante had slowed to a speed of 6 nautical knots and was located about 20km to 30km from the Polar Prince vessel, which had carried the missing Titan submersible to waters above the Titanic wreck.
The French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (Ifremer), which operates the ship, had earlier said that the Atalante would arrive at 0800 GMT after being urgently dispatched from France on Tuesday.
The ship carries the Victor 6000, a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) capable of descending to a depth of 6,000 metres.
(Via Reuters and AFP)
Updated
Experts warn time is running out with search area still vast
I’ve just been listening in to a very useful briefing from the Science Media Centre, in which the speakers were Prof Alistair Greig, professor of marine engineering at University College London, Dr Jamie Pringle, reader in Forensic Geosciences at Keele University and, Dr Rob Larter, a marine geophysicist with the British Antarctic Survey.
• Asked about the huge size of the search area, Larter said: “We’ve all seen the reports of these sounds that have been detected, but the fact that the search areas still seems to be so large would seem to indicate that nobody thinks they have confidently been able to locate where those sounds are coming from.”
Given the lack of information from the seabed, said Greig, “I’d say we’re still pretty much where we were on Monday really, in terms of the search I guess”.
• Asked about how long it could take to bring the sub to the surface were it found, Greig said: “I don’t know how long it would take but in a normal operating scenario, I think it takes about two hours to get down to depth … and about two hours again [to come up].”
• Asked about his assessment of the chances of a successful rescue mission, Greig said: “I think the key thing is that they can find it … but it’s not going to be instantaneous; every step takes time – this is the problem. And we’re running out of time.”
Pringle said: “There’s always hope with these things but you know about the ‘golden first 24 hours’ – and we’re well past that stage. There’s always a chance – it’s never zero – but I think obviously in the long run, the longer the time that elapses, the lower the chances of success. That’s with anything from earthquake survival to searches. When it goes from a rescue to a recovery, I guess the coastguards will make that choice. But that will happen at some point.”
Larter said: “It’s just a desperate situation. It’s kind of unimaginable if people are alive, trapped in a submersible with oxygen supplies running down. It doesn’t bear thinking about. An objective assessment of where things are at the moment? It doesn’t look good. But I think as Jamie said, you have to try to stay optimistic for as long as possible.”
• Asked how long it could take to find Titan, Larter said: “How long is a piece of string? To find an object of this size in 3,800-metre water depth, it potentially could take weeks of intense survey. It very much depends on how tightly the area that has to be searched is defined.”
• Asked whether the disappearance of Titan could spell the end of deep sea tourism, Larter said: “I think when people look at it afterwards, this will no doubt trigger an investigation and I think this may prove to be a key moment in thinking about how such activities are regulated in the future. It’s clear from the reports I’ve read that there is a lack of regulation governing what people can put in the water.”
Greig added: “I think there are two issues here: there’s the regulation issue we’ve just heard about but there’s also the potential customer base – it may put people off wanting to pay to go on these trips.”
• Asked if we were any closer to knowing what had gone wrong, Greig said: “I think the only thing we know that went wrong is that they lost communications. Beyond that, we don’t know. We’re not even sure yet whether it’s on the surface or the seabed, which is complicating the search.”
Updated
Updated
Dr David Gallo, a deep sea explorer, has stressed that it will take hours to rescue the submersible once it has been found – if indeed it turns out that the repetitive banging noises detected are coming from the lost sub.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain on Thursday, he 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.
(Via PA)
Eric Fusil, a submarine expert at the University of Adelaide, has shared some thoughts on what is required to ensure the seaworthiness of submersibles. He writes, in a piece for the Conversation:
For the Titan, fitness for purpose could be summarised by the ability to safely launch from a mothership on the water’s surface, operate autonomously down to 4,000m (the approximate depth of the Titanic shipwreck), and resurface for recovery by the mothership after a dive of a few hours …
The Titan is made of a composite carbon fibre-titanium hull. It is extremely complicated to design and structurally assess these materials, compared to metallic material only.
For deep-sea submersibles, minor malfunctions at the surface can pose serious risks at depth. For that reason, many of these vessels have redundancy built into their design, with back-ups in case one or multiple systems fail.
According to Fusil, in practical terms that means having:
a reserve of oxygen (such as while waiting for a rescue party) reliable main power sources and back-up systems another power source (such as hydraulic) in case of power loss – this would help, for example, to release safety leads to get positive buoyancy and rise back to the surface.
Ron Allum, a deep-sea engineer and explorer who designed the Deepsea Challenger vessel James Cameron used to reach Earth’s deepest-known point in 2012, told the Guardian:
The Deepsea Challenger was all about redundancy. We had almost three independent systems … backed up on different power supplies. We conducted fire tests. We literally made the batteries burn.
The vessel itself also underwent methodical testing prior to the expedition:
We tested and tested our descent weight. We did it at pressure. We did it hundreds of times, mounted to a forklift. It became almost monotonous.
Updated
Updated
If you’re just joining us here is where rescue efforts stand:
Vessels and specialist equipment has been sent from the US, UK, Canada and France to join the search for the Titan in a race against time.
The Polar Prince - the research vessel the Titan was launched from - will remain the command centre for the search, sitting near the Titanic wreck site
Officials are still holding out hope of a rescue even as the vessel nears the theoretical limit of its oxygen supply
The actual oxygen supply in the vessel depends largely on a range of factors, according to experts, such as the breathing rate of those on board, their level of physical activity and whether they remain calm
For more details, we have put together a summary of what we know so far as the search enters its critical phase.
Rescue teams searching for the missing Titan submersible saw reason for optimism on Wednesday after they reported hearing underwater noises in the Atlantic.
While stressing that the sounds were “inconclusive” and not confirmation the crew was still alive, the news did raise the question of what happens if the sub is located – and what equipment will be necessary to retrieve it.
As the search enters its critical phase, Jonathan Yerushalmy has taken a look at the vessels and remote operated deep-sea vessels that are being deployed.
A popular Mexican travel Youtuber, Alan Estrada has recalled his trip down to visit the wreck of the Titanic aboard the Titan submersible.
Estrada told the BBC that everyone who joined on the trip “were fully aware of the risks we were taking”.
But I never felt unsafe. I was fully aware of the risks and I knew that if something happened, if there was a failure in those depths and the submersible imploded, we probably wouldn’t even notice.
Estrada said he first learned about the tour offers during the pandemic when he was looking for ways to push his channel “to the limits”.
As the search for the Titan Submersible enters its fourth day, the President of the Explorers Club, Richard Garriott de Cayeux, is still holding out hope for a good outcome.
In a statement on social media, Garriott de Cayeux thanked the the public for “all your support and hard work” on the effort to find and save the Titan submersible.
He said he believed the efforts so far have “have importantly improved the odds of a positive outcome” to the situation, although he remained critical of authorities for not acting fast enough.
He said the arrival of the Magellan and the use of side-scan sonar will help improve the odds of finding the submersible.
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.
I thank you! Keep searching!
Dr Glenn Singleman, an extreme medicine expert who has visited the Titanic shipwreck, told the Guardian both lack of oxygen and carbon dioxide buildup are worrying concerns for the people onboard the missing Titan submersible.
The oxygen being supplied inside the vessel was likely being delivered at the regular atmospheric concentration of 21% oxygen, Singleman said:
Every submariner fears fire inside the cabin because if there is fire then carbon monoxide and other toxins are a huge problem very rapidly. That’s one of the reasons why it’s not common to use higher concentrations of oxygen than in normal air, because by having higher concentrations inside your submersible, you make it more likely that there will be a fire.
Aside from a fire, carbon monoxide should otherwise not be a problem.
A drop in oxygen levels in the air can result in hypoxia, in which bodily tissues become deprived of adequate supply. Oxygen concentrations of 10% and lower can result in loss of consciousness and death.
Singleman said the 96-hour oxygen supply figure would be an approximation based on an average person’s oxygen consumption at an average metabolic rate.
You’ve got no idea how people respond to the stress of a difficult situation – some people can increase their metabolic rate with stress, some people can relax and try to sleep and decrease it.
To prevent carbon dioxide buildup, submersibles are equipped with “scrubbers”, usually made of soda lime, which remove CO2 from the air. Singleman said:
The problem is that you get to a saturation point after a while, and you’ve got to change out the soda lime.
CO2 content in air is about 400 parts per million. As it goes up, over 1000[ppm], most people start to get symptomatic, and over 5000, you’re very symptomatic – you get hyperventilation, you get a headache, you just feel awful.
The expedition that the Titan submersible and its crew were undergoing was tremendously risky, according to industry experts and former passengers. The Titan had to withstand the pressure from being almost 4,000 metres (13,100ft) below sea level – the depth at which the Titanic came to rest – and faced the threat of getting lost or losing contact with the surface.
While it is too early to say what happened to the vessel, experts have raised questions over whether all appropriate safety measures were followed.
Stockton Rush, the chief executive and founder of OceanGate, creator of Titan, is among those missing. Rush has decades of engineering experience and has been at the helm of expeditions to the Titanic since 2021 – this was his fifth. OceanGate said there were a number of innovative safety features onboard the Titan.
The potential risks were made clear to passengers. Mike Reiss, who travelled on the Titan last year, told the BBC:
You sign a waiver before you get on that mentions death three different times. They’re learning as they go along … things go wrong. I’ve taken three different dives with this company and you almost always [lose] communication.
The Guardian understands that all standard checks and procedures were followed before the submersible set off on its voyage, but concerns over whether the vessel met industry safety standards have come to light.
If you’re just catching up on the situation regarding the lost Titan submersible, read Jonathan Yerulshalmy and Ashifa Kassam’s report on the concerns raised over the safety of the vessel:
OceanGate CEO and Founder Stockton Rush told a US television network he was aware of the risks involved with diving thousands of metres beneath the oceans surface during an interview in December 2022.
Rush was speaking to CBS Sunday Morning when he said his “biggest fear” was “things that will stop me from being able to get to the surface”.
Overhangs, fish nets, entanglement hazards. And, that’s just a technique, piloting technique. It’s pretty clear — if it’s an overhang, don’t go under it. If there is a net, don’t go near it. So, you can avoid those if you are just slow and steady.
The CEO also said “there’s a limit” to how safe it could make the operation despite introducing some procedures.
I mean, if you just want to be safe, don’t get out of bed. Don’t get in your car. Don’t do anything. At some point, you’re going to take some risk, and it really is a risk-reward question. I think I can do this just as safely by breaking the rules.
Recovering the missing Titan submersible and bringing its crew to safety in time using the latest advanced deep-sea rescue equipment would be an extremely difficult task, an expert has said.
Even if Titan is located, a successful rescue would require remote-controlled vehicles (ROVs) capable of allowing operators on the surface a clear view of the submersible’s location, any obstacles that may be present and where to attach cables capable of lifting it thousands of metres through the water.
If the Titan and its five-person crew did arrive at the Titanic wreck, they will be located 3,800 metres (12,500ft) below the surface on the seabed – too deep for most ROVs to reach. Only a “tiny percentage of the world’s submarines operate that deeply”, David Marquet, a former US Navy submarine commander, told CBC.
If you’re just joining us and looking to catch up on the technical challenges that face rescuers attempting to reach the sub, read the full report here:
Though authorities and those involved in the hunt for the Titan submersible, the challenges should not be underestimated.
The area of ocean where the vessel is lost is remote and rugged – and the wreck of the Titanic lies roughly 3700m below sea level.
If that is hard to conceptualise, this illustrated video captures the scale of the challenge.
This is why the #Oceangate Titan submersible search is so difficult. The depth of the ocean is staggering pic.twitter.com/Jiz6dCtDGg
— Tom Munns (@TomMunns1) June 21, 2023
There have been concerns bad weather may hamper the search from the Titan submersible but it looks as if conditions are right for a positive result.
Good news! Conditions ok for #Titan search & rescue, winds currently 17 kt NNW gusting to 23kts with low seas & swell #Atalante #Titanichttps://t.co/jVqaUabEpd
— Ben John (@benjohn65) June 22, 2023
Wendy Rush, who is married to Stockton Rush, Ceo of OceanGate and pilot aboard the Titan submersible, is also a descendent of a couple who lost their lives aboard the famed ship.
The New York Times reports that Rush is the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus, two first-class passengers who were aboard the Titanic when it went down in 1912.
The couple were among the Titanic’s wealthiest passengers. Isidor and his brother co-owned a Macy’s department store.
Survivors reported watching Isidor refuse a seat on a life raft to allow women and children to get on board. Ida chose to remain with him. The scene was recreated in the film dramatisation of the disaster.
Wendy nee Hollings Weil married Stockton Rush in 1986.
She is also the communications director at OceanGate and has personally visited the Titanic wreck three times.
Updated
Opening Summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the search for the submersible vessel Titan that went missing during a voyage to the wreck of the Titanic with five people onboard.
The search for the OceanGate Expeditions tourist submersible is entering its fourth day after the vessel was reported overdue on Sunday evening about 435 miles south of St John’s, Newfoundland.
Officials have still said they are hopeful of a rescue despite growing concerns the oxygen supply on board is becoming dangerously low. Equipment from the US, Canada, the UK and France has been brought in to help find the vessel.
Experts have said the search remains a technically challenging task because of the potential for bad weather and the difficulty in locating a small vessel in a vast ocean. So far the search has concentrated around an area where sounds were detected repeating at 30-minute intervals but authorities have said they have been unable to confirm the origin of these sounds.
As of Wednesday night local time remotely operated deep-sea vehicles (ROV), capable of operating down to depths of 6km, were heading to the area to join the search and the US Navy is also sending a heavy-lifting system called Fadoss.
It is understood the vessel had enough oxygen on board for 96 hours, though the true extent of its supply depends on several various including whether the vessel remains powered, the activity of those on board and whether they have remained calm and are able to control their breathing.
Those onboard Titan are believed to be British billionaire Hamish Harding, 58; Pakistani-born businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, with his 19-year-old son Suleman, who are both British citizens; French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77; and Stockton Rush, founder and CEO of OceanGate Expeditions.
We’ll bring you updates on the search as they happen.
