Originally Posted by :
A search and rescue operation is currently underway to locate a submarine that went missing during an expedition to the Titanic.
The U.S. Coast Guard was looking for the submarine Monday morning after it disappeared during the expedition from St. John's, N.L. The infamous 1912 wreck is located more than 600 kilometres southeast of the province in the North Atlantic Ocean.
The trip to the Titanic was being run by OceanGate Expeditions, a U.S.-based company. It uses a five-person submersible named Titan to reach the wreckage 3,800 metres below the surface. OceanGate's website advertises a seven-night voyage to the Titanic for US$250,000 per person, or approximately CA$330,000.
"We are exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely," an OceanGate spokesperson said in an email to CTV News. "Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families."
Those tours are a series of five eight-day missions to the Titanic with the money raised by tourists going towards Titanic research. Posts on social media show the ship launched from the St. John's area last week.
Did they really have 5 people in this?? Or do they have a larger version??
Originally Posted by Pennywise:
And one was the pilot? I'd like to know how much call of duty he played and if it was using the controller rams fan mentioned.
Originally Posted by Pawnmower:
if it makes you feel better i think there were only two billionaires on board
If you are paying $100K-$250K for a day cruise in a cramped tube just to glimpse the Titanic, if you are not a billionaire, why are you paying that much for fun? [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
If you are paying $100K-$250K for a day cruise in a cramped tube just to glimpse the Titanic, if you are not a billionaire, why are you paying that much for fun?
i mean, "fun" ?
if you had a few million and you really wanted to do it? Like the other guy on board is this older explorer guy (Paul-Henri Nargeolet) who is 77 and has spent his life diving and stuff. He wasn't a billionaire.
And the dude running the sub apparently just loved diving too, because he wasnt all that rich.
Me? I wouldnt do it, period! lol. Doesnt sound fun to me [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
I'm guessing that it was way harder to get an airtight seal that could handle the extreme pressure with an actual door. Doesn't necessarily excuse it, but I doubt they just left it off for no reason.
Originally Posted by Rain Man:
I wonder if they actually tested releasing the ballast at depth. When you've got a ton of pressure against everything, I'd think there are a bunch of ways where ballast isn't going to fall the way you think.
Not likely.
This entire operation reminds me of the "Rocket Man documentary.
Look it up if you haven't seen it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Frazod:
You should read the Tom Clancy novel Without Remorse. There is a part where the hero uses a decompression chamber during an interrogation.
It kind of sticks with you.
I think the Nazis actually did on some Jewish victims too IIRC. [Reply]
In 1977 I got to see the King Tutankhamun exhibit in New Orleans LA - INCREDIBLE
In 1997 I was fortunate to see the Titanic exhibit in Memphis, TN - it was INCREDIBLE
I have yet to see the WWII exhibit at the National museum in New Orleans
Want to see the WWI museum in KC - Will see it one day.
Back to the OP, with that said, viewing of the exhibit in Memphis, and I believe there is an exhibit in MO as well as one in Knoxville, I do not think I would ever have the desire to see the actual ship wreckage in person. This has been shown numerous times over the years with better video footage and there is really nothing to look at beside the ACTUAL experience of seeing the wreckage first hand. It is so dangerous because of the depth that to me, it is not worth it at any price. I mean what are you actually going to see of a rusted vessel a 100 years old basically rotting? Seeing it live I am sure is enlightening but still in all... [Reply]
Originally Posted by :
A Canadian aircraft searching for the missing Titan submersible, which failed to return Sunday from an expedition to the wreckage of the Titanic, detected “banging” in 30-minute intervals coming from the area the divers disappeared, according to internal e-mail updates sent to Department of Homeland Security leadership and obtained by Rolling Stone.
“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.
The announcement also stated that “the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre is working to find an underwater remote-operated vehicle through partner organizations to possibly assist.” Previous reports on the search for the missing submersible have stated that the Navy’s manned rescue craft can only descend about 2,000 feet underwater, and that if the divers were discovered closer to the approximate 13,000 foot depth of the Titanic wreckage, an underwater drone, or remote-operated vehicle, would be necessary to reach them.
The Boston Coast Guard declined to comment on the reported “banging” sounds, as did the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The U.S. Fleet Forces Command, the DHS, and the U.S. Coast Guard did not respond to requests for comment.
An e-mail sent Tuesday afternoon from the president of the travel and research group, the Explorers Society, stated, “It is being reported that at 2 a.m. local time on site that sonar detected potential ‘tapping sounds’ at the location, implying crew may be alive and signaling.” The Boston Coast Guard, which is leading the rescue efforts, did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the reported tapping sounds.
The mass email said that two Society members were onboard the Titan, and urged the group to contact their representatives about using remote-operated vehicles made by a private UK-based company. “A team out of the UK named Magellan has an ROV rated for 6,000 meters which is loaded on a plane and ready and waiting to help,” the email stated. “BUT THE US GOV and USCG have not yet given them permits to participate!” The Boston Coast Guard has not responded to questions about the depth grading of the ROVs currently in use in the search efforts or the proposal to use the UK company’s products.
According to the Coast Guard, the Titan lost contact with its support ship one hour and 45 minutes into Sunday’s dive. A massive search and a race against time has ensued, since the craft reportedly had just 96 hours worth of oxygen available when it began its trip.
At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, the Coast Guard announced that search efforts “have not yielded any results.”
A DHS official told Rolling Stone, that as of 5 hours ago the Titan still had 40 hours of oxygen left and stated that the “situation looks bleak,” adding that they believe the banging was coming from the craft, but that haven’t heard any noise since yesterday.
The Titan is a 21-foot-long vehicle from the tourism company OceanGate Expeditions. It’s a “Cyclops-class” craft with a single porthole for observation, designed to take paying customers on deep-sea explorations. In a statement, OceanGate said, “Our entire focus is on the crew members in the submersible and their families,” adding, “We are exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely.”
The four passengers onboard alongside a pilot have been identified as Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman; French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet; and Hamish Harding, chairman of Dubai-based Action Aviation. Before departing on the expedition, Harding posted on his Instagram account about the trip. “We started steaming from St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada, yesterday and are planning to start dive operations around 4am tomorrow morning. Until then we have a lot of preparations and briefings to do,” he wrote in the caption, and worried over whether the conditions would be right to begin the dive. He added, “More expedition updates to follow IF the weather holds!”
