Titanic tourist submersible missing for third day with five aboard
Reuters
Jun 20, 2023 18:03 MYT
Titanic tourist submersible missing for third day with five aboard
The port bow railing of the Titanic lies in 12,600 feet of water about 400 miles east of Nova Scotia. - REUTERS/Filepic
A submersible taking wealthy tourists to visit the site of the Titanic wreckage in deep waters off the coast of Canada was missing for a third day on Tuesday, as U.S. and Canadian ships and planes swept a huge area trying to find the vessel.
One pilot and four passengers were on board the submersible that went missing on Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard said, adding the vessel could stay underwater for up to 96 hours, although it was unclear if it had resurfaced but was unable to communicate.
Those aboard the submersible called Titan, the highlight of a tourist expedition that costs $250,000 per person, included British billionaire Hamish Harding and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood with his son. French media also reported that 77-year-old French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet was on board.
"We are very grateful for the concern being shown by our colleagues and friends and would like to request everyone to pray for their safety," Dawood's family said on Tuesday.
U.S. and Canadian ships and planes began swarming the area on Monday about 900 miles (1,450 km) east of Cape Cod, some dropping sonar buoys that can monitor to a depth of 13,000 feet (3,962 metres), U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said.
"We are deploying all available assets to make sure that we can locate the craft and rescue the people on board," he told reporters on Monday. "It is a remote area and it is a challenge to conduct a search in that remote area."
He said officials had asked commercial vessels to help.
The wreckage of the Titanic that sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg lies at about 12,500 feet (3,810 metres). The Titan submersible usually takes two hours to descend to the wreck.
OceanGate Expeditions, the private company that operates the submersible, said it was "mobilizing all options" to rescue those aboard the Titan.
The U.S. Coast Guard said on Twitter that a boat on the surface - the Polar Prince - lost contact with the submersible about one hour and 45 minutes after it began diving toward to the site of the Titanic's wreckage on Sunday.
Harding's stepson wrote on Facebook that Harding had "gone missing on submarine" and asked for "thoughts and prayers", but later removed the post citing respect for the family's privacy.
BILLIONAIRE ABOARD
Harding, a UAE-based businessman and adventurer who is chairman of Action Aviation, had posted on Facebook that he would be aboard the submersible.
The expedition headed out to sea on Friday, and the first dive was set for Sunday morning, according to Harding's post.
Fellow tourist, Dawood, is the vice chairman of one of Engro Corporation, one of Pakistan's largest conglomerates with investments ranging from fertilisers and energy to vehicle manufacturing.
SETI, the California-based research institute of which he is a trustee, said on its website that Dawood lives in Britain with his wife and two children.
The expeditions start in St. John's, Newfoundland, before heading out approximately 400 miles (640 km) into the Atlantic to the wreckage site, according to OceanGate's website.
The British passenger ship sank on its maiden voyage, killing more than 1,500 people, a tragedy that has been immortalized in books and films, including the 1997 blockbuster movie "Titanic."
Who's on board the missing Titanic sub?
Reuters
Jun 20, 2023 20:00 MYT
British billionaire Hamish Harding, who is said to be among the passengers onboard the submarine that went missing on trip to the Titanic wreckage is seen in this handout picture taken in flight, July 2019. - Jannicke Mikkelsen/via REUTERS/Filepic
Who's on board the missing Titanic sub?
British billionaire Hamish Harding, who is said to be among the passengers onboard the submarine that went missing on trip to the Titanic wreckage is seen in this handout picture taken in flight, July 2019. - Jannicke Mikkelsen/via REUTERS/Filepic
A five-person submersible vessel taking tourists on a $250,000 trip to see the wreckage of the 1912 Titanic disaster 12,500 feet (3,800m) undersea is missing in the Atlantic off Canada.
Following is what we know so far:
WHO IS ON BOARD?
* HAMISH HARDING. The British billionaire and chairman of aviation company Action Aviation is among those missing, according to his stepson. Dubai-based Harding had posted on social media that he was proud to be heading to the Titanic as a "mission specialist", adding: "Due to the worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023."
Harding was also on board the 2019 "One More Orbit" flight mission that set a record for the fastest circumnavigation of earth by aircraft over both geographic poles.
* SHAHZADA DAWOOD and his son SULEMAN. Their family have confirmed they are on board. Shahzada is vice chairman of one of Pakistan's largest conglomerates, Engro Corporation, with investments in fertilisers, vehicle manufacturing, energy and digital technologies. According to the website of SETI, a California-based research institute of which he is a trustee, he lives in Britain with his wife and two children.
* PAUL-HENRI NARGEOLET. The 77-year-old French explorer, whom media say is one of the five on board, is director of underwater research at a company that owns the rights to the Titanic wreck. A former commander in the French Navy, he was both a deep diver and a mine sweeper. After retiring from the navy, he led the first recovery expedition to the Titanic in 1987 and is a leading authority on the wreck site. In a 2020 interview with France Bleu radio, he spoke of the dangers of deep diving, saying: "I am not afraid to die, I think it will happen one day."
* STOCKTON RUSH. The founder and CEO of the vessel's U.S.-based operating company OceanGate is also on the submersible, according to media reports. "It is an amazingly beautiful wreck," Rush told Britain's Sky news of the Titanic earlier this year. "Rush became the youngest jet transport rated pilot in the world when he obtained his DC-8 Type/Captain’s rating at the United Airlines Jet Training Institute in 1981 at the age of 19," according to his biography on OceanGate's website.
WHAT'S THE FIRM BEHIND THIS?
* Based in Everett in Washington State in the United States, OceanGate says it uses next generation crewed submersibles and launch platforms to increase deep ocean access as far as 4,000 metres.
* "OceanGate has successfully completed over 14 expeditions and over 200 dives in the Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico," its website says. "Following every mission, the team evaluates and updates the procedures as part as a continued commitment to evolve and ensure operational safety."
WHAT IS THE VESSEL?
* Although popularly called a submarine, in marine terminology the "Titan" vessel carrying the five is a submersible. While a submarine can launch itself from a port independently, a submersible goes down off a support ship.
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