Titanic tourist sub goes missing in Atlantic Ocean, June 2023

[GoBuckeyes]

Just came across an article that mentions the different ways it has of resurfacing ...


And there are seven different ways to return to the surface. Just redundancy after redundancy. They can drop sandbags, they can drop lead pipes, they can inflate a balloon, they can use the thrusters. They can even jettison the legs of the sub to lose weight. And some of these, by the way, work even if the power is out and even if everyone on board is passed out. So there's sort of a dead man's switch such that the hooks holding on to sandbags dissolve after a certain number of hours in the water, release the sandbags and bring you to the surface, even if you're unconscious.

https://www.npr.org/2023/06/20/1183273102/titan-missing-sub-titanic-rescue-oceangate

But if they're hung up on something, it's possible that none of those things would work. MOO

 

[kari1999]

I cant imagine having 4 completely untrained people in a sub that small during a crisis

I agree, it gives searchers less time. I assume the untrained people may be panicking, which would consume more oxygen.

 

[MyJoey]

My anxiety is through the roof for this crew....

Oh man I hear you, I’ve been thinking about it all day. I just don’t see a good ending here.

 

[linds1393]

According to the marine traffic site I'm using, there's still several boats and vessels in the area of the missing submarine. Would they stay out there all night searching? Or head back to land late at night?

 

[j_in_c]

It's possible that whoever was banging on the hull stopped, to conserve oxygen and energy.

At a minimum it points away from catastrophic hull failure. sound can really travel underwater, and it can be difficult to interpret what is heard. This is reminding me of the documentary "the last breath". Still hoping for a miracle here!

 

[DS2021]

According to the marine traffic site I'm using, there's still several boats and vessels in the area of the missing submarine. Would they stay out there all night searching? Or head back to land late at night?

I would imagine that they will be out there as much as possible while theres still a chance of the crew being alive. If they arent found within the next few days this will likely become a recovery mission and the level of urgency will likely lower
MOO

 

[BeachSky]

How many $250,000 checks would it take to buy a BEACON? …or some kind of backup plan?…if they could not do all those “things” ocean gate said to surface?

Moo

 

[ch_13]

I found the brochure for OceanGate that's put out by a tourist agency:

https://www.galacticexperiencesbydeprez.com/pdf/galactic_titanic_final.pdf

Some highlights from the brochure...

---

Your Dive
Titanic Explored
Following a pre-dive brief, your team of up to four crew members and one sub pilot will board Titan. After conducting a check of life-support, navigation, and communication systems, the dive begins.

During the 2.5 hour decent through the water column, you will traverse the least explored habitat on the planet. During this phase of the dive, crew members will be on the lookout for bioluminescent creatures, will help the pilot monitor the navigation system to vector Titan toward the wreck, and monitor the sonar system for the first reflections of the wreck. Finally, the wreck will come into view through the acrylic viewport and the exterior cameras.

The submersible crew will spend three to five hours exploring the wreck. The area of focus will change depending on the interest of the crew and the scientific mission for that dive, but most will want to begin with a view of the bow. Your team might focus on the cavern where the famous grand staircase once stood, the debris field, the stern, or the marine life on the wreck. Our powerful exterior lights will illuminate the area of study and help you search for landmark features like the giant boilers and enormous propellers.

---

Mission Specialists
Mission Specialists are explorers, adventurers, and citizen scientists whose Training and Mission Support Fees make the expedition possible. Mission Specialists receive training in a variety of roles such as submersible navigation and piloting, tracking and communications, and submersible maintenance and operations. They make one submersible dive and assist on the surface when other teams dive.

---

Requirements for all expedition participants:

• Able to live aboard ship at sea for up to one week
• Able to board small boats (Zodiacs) in rough seas
• Have a valid passport and can enter Canada
• Be at least 18 years old when the mission begins
• Comfortable in dynamic environments

 

[tarabull]

King Charles' Charities Are 'Devastated' That Supporter Shahzada Dawood Is on Missing 'Titanic' Sub

Charities connected to King Charles III are devastated to learn that one of its supporters is among those missing on the subversive that disappeared while attempting to visit the Titanic wreckage

people.com

 

[LaborDayRN]

I completely agree with you, though we seem to be in the minority.

Looking at the design and construction of Titan, I have many problems with the way it was built and the lack of thorough testing. But the fact that it uses standard off-the-shelf PC components doesn't concern me at all. In a well-designed sub the computers shouldn't be mission critical to begin with, so it really shouldn't matter whether the controller was built by NASA, Logitech or Lego.

I don't see the controller as the problem per se. I see it more as information about how corners may have been cut in other areas as well during the building of this vessel.

 

[BeachSky]

I cant imagine having 4 completely untrained people in a sub that small during a crisis

I didn’t even think about the freezing temps until this morning.

Q&A: What are conditions like on board the missing Titanic submarine?

With temperatures on the ocean floor near-freezing and the vessel’s 96 hour oxygen supply running down, occupants are at increasing risk of hyperthermia or suffocation

www.irishexaminer.com

With temperatures on the ocean floor near-freezing and the vessel’s 96 hour oxygen supply running down, occupants are at increasing risk of hyperthermia or suffocation

 

[arielilane]

‘They could be alive’: Scientist on missing Titanic submersible​

• A submarine carrying a group touring the Titanic wreckage is missing
• It’s unclear if they became lost or if there was an issue on board
• A marine scientist tells NewsNation it's possible they're still alive

‘They could be alive’: Scientist on missing Titanic submersible

David Guggenheim, the founder and president of Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization Ocean Doctor, discusses possible reasons the submarine lost contact on “Elizabeth Vargas Reports.&…

www.newsnationnow.com

Updated: JUN 20, 2023 / 08:11 PM CDT

 

[HMSHood]

I look at the Titan submersible, I notice the window is larger than like on Alvin, Mir, Limiting Factor, Deepsea Challenger, Nautile, Jiaolong, or Bathyscape Trieste.

Deep sea water has high pressure. Anything that implodes, the death will be quick. It could also be trapped in or around the Titanic wreckage zone. It take about 2 hours and 45 minutes to reach Titanic. They were reported lost 1 hour 45 minutes into the dive. Probably something went wrong before they even reached Titanic.

Crew killed in 'catastrophic implosion': Timeline of mission to find OceanGate's missing Titanic submarine

News of OceanGate Expedition's missing submarine exploded as the U.S. and Canadian coast guards sprang into search and rescue missions.

www.foxnews.com

RMS Titanic had a short life, but her legacy lives on. She is always in the headlines all those years.

 

[Lexiintoronto]

Searchers for Titanic Tourist Sub Heard 'Banging' From Area, Internal Comms Reveal

Internal email updates to DHS leadership obtained by Rolling Stone show searchers heard "banging" in the area where Titan submersible disappeared.

www.rollingstone.com

“RCC Halifax launched a P8, Poseidon, which has underwater detection capabilities from the air,” the DHS e-mails read. “The P8 deployed sonobuoys, which reported a contact in a position close to the distress position. The P8 heard banging sounds in the area every 30 minutes. Four hours later additional sonar was deployed and banging was still heard.” The announcement did not state what time the banging was heard, or what was thought to have caused it.

That reminds me of the sailors at Pearl Harbour who died after being trapped for 16 days. They were tapping but there was no way to rescue them.

 

[JennieM]

US Coast Guard releases image showing search pattern for missing submersible​

From CNN’s Amanda Jackson

Search patterns used in the search for the Titan submersible. U.S. Coast Guard

The US Coast Guard released an image showing the search pattern for the Titan submersible — and provided an update on existing and incoming resources that are expected to aid in the search for the underwater vessel.

A New York Air National Guard C-130 arrived at about 4 p.m. to assist in the search, joining "Deep Energy," a Bahamian research vessel that arrived around 7 a.m., and was conducting remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operations, the Coast Guard said.

The following additional assets are also en route to the scene, the US Coast Guard said:

· Canadian CGS John Cabot

· Canadian CGS Ann Harvey

· Canadian CGS Terry Fox

· Canadian CGS Atlantic Merlin (ROV)

· Motor Vessel Horizon Arctic

· Commercial Vessel Skandi Vinland (ROV)

· French Research Vessel L’Atalante (ROV)

· His Majesty's Canadian Ship Glace Bay (mobile decompression chamber and medical personnel)

“This is a complex search effort which requires multiple agencies with subject matter expertise and specialized equipment which we have gained through the unified command,” Captain Jamie Frederick, the response coordinator from the First Coast Guard District, said in a press release.

“While the Coast Guard has assumed the role of Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator, we do not have all of the necessary expertise and equipment required in a search of this nature,” he added. “The Unified Command brings that expertise and additional capability together to maximize effort in solving this complex problem.”

June 20, 2023 Missing Titanic sub search news

Banging sounds were heard Tuesday during the search for the missing Titan submersible, according to an internal US government memo. Follow for live news updates.

edition.cnn.com

 

[arielilane]

Interesting insight on the question if the submersible can lift itself to the surface. This reporter was on the Titan prior to this mission. There are several ways the Titan can rise to the surface.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1671319576959762432

#Titan's depth capabilities were downgraded short of the #Titanic

https://twitter.com/x/status/1671310412212584448

Titan's depth capabilities were downgraded short of the Titanic

The hull of the Titan vessel "showed signs of cyclic fatigue," according to a January 2020 interview with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who is aboard the

www.nbcnews.com

Updated June 21, 2023, 1:42 AM UTC

The U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday night that it and other agencies and searchers are operating under a unified command as the search for the missing submersible Titan continues.

More than 10,000 square miles had been searched by Tuesday morning, the Coast Guard said, and weather and visibility have improved.

Three Canadian coast guard ships, as well as a commercial vessel and a French research vessel with remote-operated vehicles, and a Canadian navy ship with a mobile decompression chamber were on the way, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The Bahamian research vessel Deep Energy and a U.S. Air National Guard C-130 are also searching, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

[...]

One of the best-case scenarios that might have happened to the missing Titan submersible would be if it has been entangled in the wreckage of the Titanic, an ocean explorer and expert said Tuesday.

If that's the case, it could make the submersible with five people aboard easier to find, Tim Taylor, an ocean explorer and the CEO of Tiburon Subsea, said on NBC News Now.

 

[JDG]

According to the marine traffic site I'm using, there's still several boats and vessels in the area of the missing submarine. Would they stay out there all night searching? Or head back to land late at night?

24/7 at the moment.

 

[Lexiintoronto]

I found the brochure for OceanGate that's put out by a tourist agency:

https://www.galacticexperiencesbydeprez.com/pdf/galactic_titanic_final.pdf

Some highlights from the brochure...

---

Your Dive
Titanic Explored
Following a pre-dive brief, your team of up to four crew members and one sub pilot will board Titan. After conducting a check of life-support, navigation, and communication systems, the dive begins.

During the 2.5 hour decent through the water column, you will traverse the least explored habitat on the planet. During this phase of the dive, crew members will be on the lookout for bioluminescent creatures, will help the pilot monitor the navigation system to vector Titan toward the wreck, and monitor the sonar system for the first reflections of the wreck. Finally, the wreck will come into view through the acrylic viewport and the exterior cameras.

The submersible crew will spend three to five hours exploring the wreck. The area of focus will change depending on the interest of the crew and the scientific mission for that dive, but most will want to begin with a view of the bow. Your team might focus on the cavern where the famous grand staircase once stood, the debris field, the stern, or the marine life on the wreck. Our powerful exterior lights will illuminate the area of study and help you search for landmark features like the giant boilers and enormous propellers.

---

Mission Specialists
Mission Specialists are explorers, adventurers, and citizen scientists whose Training and Mission Support Fees make the expedition possible. Mission Specialists receive training in a variety of roles such as submersible navigation and piloting, tracking and communications, and submersible maintenance and operations. They make one submersible dive and assist on the surface when other teams dive.

---

Requirements for all expedition participants:

• Able to live aboard ship at sea for up to one week
• Able to board small boats (Zodiacs) in rough seas
• Have a valid passport and can enter Canada
• Be at least 18 years old when the mission begins
• Comfortable in dynamic environments

From your post:

“During the 2.5 hour decent through the water column, you will traverse the least explored habitat on the planet. During this phase of the dive, crew members will be on the lookout for bioluminescent creatures, will help the pilot monitor the navigation system to vector Titan toward the wreck, and monitor the sonar system for the first reflections of the wreck. Finally, the wreck will come into view through the acrylic viewport and the exterior cameras.”

The passengers are called crew members. My fear is that one of the inexperienced passengers may have had the controls as they approached the Titanic. There are strong currents at that depth that made another vessel crash into the Titanic’s enormous propeller and get caught until they figured out how to get themselves free. I can see that happening with this voyage, imo.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

This link is the official OceanGate website:

OceanGate | Photo Gallery | Titan

OceanGate Inc. is a privately held company that provides manned submersible assets and expertise for commercial, research and military applications.

oceangate.com

In the image I linked, Titan is shown on the launch and recovery platform. When Titan surfaces, it's maneuvered onto the platform under the water and then the platform lifts it out.

Which makes me wonder... does Titan actually break the surface before it's lifted out, or does it bob around just below the surface until it's lifted out? If it stays beneath the surface it would be difficult to find even if its flotation devices worked.

 

[realanastasia]

Couple filed lawsuit against Oceangate CEO in February demanding refund after Titanic trip was canceled​

When reached by CNN, the Hagles’ attorney, Ronny Edwards Jr., declined to comment on the pending litigation, but said, “More important than the litigation, however, is the safe return of the entire Titan crew. My thoughts and prayers are with the crew and their families.”

CNN’s Ross Levitt contributed to this report.

June 20, 2023 Missing Titanic sub search news

Banging sounds were heard Tuesday during the search for the missing Titan submersible, according to an internal US government memo. Follow for live news updates.

edition.cnn.com

Well, at least that’s a very classy response.