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 ChiefaRoo:
Imagine getting smooshed down to the size of a softball. I wonder if the pressure turns you into a sphere? Anyone know?
I've been in a meeting all day, but I just got out and have been thinking about this for a full five minutes.
My theory is that the person is facing immense pressure from everywhere except their internal parts. So the pressure is headed to the internal parts (meaning everything inside the skin). However, they're of varying thicknesses and length, for example an arm versus a skull. So the pressure is essentially going to essentially push in everything with equal force, so a longer thinner part will essentially be pulverized on its narrower axis before the pressure on the ends can turn it spherical. A round thing like a skull might remain somewhat spherical, but the neck will break loose before it all congeals together. So my theory is that a person will essentially end up as a bunch of globules that are floating near each other, but are not connected. As the parts break apart, there's likely nothing forcing them to congeal together into one mass, and they would just float with any water movement toward or away from each other.
I'm not an expert on high-pressure death, though, so I could be wrong. [Reply]
Originally Posted by notorious:
I knew a guy that was a boomer driver. Wife's cousin was a reactor engineer on a Los Angeles Class sub.
Both were a little different.
So was this guy. I mean, he was nice, but definitely on the prudish side. I haven't run into many prudish veteran fleet sailors in my life. :-)
He was married when he was in, and is still married to the same woman now. One of the benefits is boomer crews (if I remember what he told me correctly) had equal parts sea and shore time, so he would be gone for three months and then in port training for three months, so half the year he'd be home with the wife. That certainly wasn't the case with surface ships. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
At the same time, it doesn't sound like the company made any secret of the risks involved. The waiver itself explicitly mentions death as a possibility multiple times. Along the lines of what DJLN has said, at some point, you have to let people accept the risks even if they're far above zero.
I agree with letting people take risks, but they should be risks with full information, or at least the best information possible. Death is possible in any situation, whether you're flying in a commercial plane or using a deep-fat fryer or using a saw. But you should have reasonable confidence that the manufacturer has done their due diligence to minimize those risks.
In this case, the passengers should have some reasonable confidence that the manufacturer knows what they're doing. Is there a risk of death? Of course. But a waiver is not defensible if the manufacturer is negligent in providing safety to the greatest extent reasonable. These people were fraudulent in portraying their ability and skill accurately and honestly. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Frazod:
So was this guy. I mean, he was nice, but definitely on the prudish side. I haven't run into many prudish veteran fleet sailors in my life. :-)
He was married when he was in, and is still married to the same woman now. One of the benefits is boomer crews (if I remember what he told me correctly) had equal parts sea and shore time, so he would be gone for three months and then in port training for three months, so half the year he'd be home with the wife. That certainly wasn't the case with surface ships.
Could be a blessing or curse depending on the girl at home.
Engineer guy was a prude. Boomer driver was an alcoholic poon hound. :-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by ghak99:
I'm pretty sure I'm required to pay a small fee, less than a dollar??, each time I visit Colorado that's supposed to offset some of these costs. I don't know how such a small fee would even begin to pay for the cost considering how many times they're sent out a year, but I'm sure it helps.
I completely agree that we should avoid punishing or discouraging these type of people though. We are all where we are in life because some idiot had an idea and the balls to try it. He might have died, but the guy who watched him do it learned something from it that made it work the second time.
I'm curious what fees you're talking about (or, more specifically, how they're assessed). It's not like we've got a toll booth on the border... [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
I'm curious what fees you're talking about (or, more specifically, how they're assessed). It's not like we've got a toll booth on the border...
Reports came in the US Navy heard sounds of an implosion at about the time that the Titan went missing. This was reported to the US Coast Guard.
Also reported that 2 pieces of the breached hull have been found in 2 different locations along with debris fields.
The hull material from what I understand is wound onto like a spool into shape till it reaches 4 inches thickness. Probably broke the thread from the bobbin halfway and tied a square knot and continued.
As Pt Barnum said There's a fool born every minute. There were five on the Titan. A foolish dreamer short on money, and four idiots who followed him! [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
I'm curious what fees you're talking about (or, more specifically, how they're assessed). It's not like we've got a toll booth on the border...
It's an "add on" when applying for tags and licenses. It's basically a box you're required to check and pay for. I'm not sure if this only applies to nonresidents or if residents pay it as well. I honestly do not know what it actually covers or provides either. I can look at this spring's application receipts when I get home, but I'm pretty sure it's just .25 or .50 and called an "SAR" fee.
A guy who lives down the road from me broke his ankle in the back country several years ago and needed flown off the mountain. I remember him claiming that part of the experience was "free" because Colorado is one of the states with laws that provide it. He is an EMT himself and was a bit embarrassed over needing flown out, but the crew assured him they encourage people to call in for help in all situations because so much of the state's income is derived from their nature/outdoor tourist income and their service is a big part of that reputation.
There's also a forced $10 fee for habitat. Apparently, saving the animals is worth more than saving the people. :-) [Reply]
Horrible. The 19-year-old passenger on the Titanic submersible, Suleman Dawood, didn't want to go on the submersible and was “terrified”—but agreed to do it for his dad on Father's Day, according to a family member. https://t.co/OBgeXdzITSpic.twitter.com/c9cHl23rzl
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) June 22, 2023
Originally Posted by The Franchise:
This is the only person I feel sorry for.
Horrible. The 19-year-old passenger on the Titanic submersible, Suleman Dawood, didn't want to go on the submersible and was “terrified”—but agreed to do it for his dad on Father's Day, according to a family member. https://t.co/OBgeXdzITSpic.twitter.com/c9cHl23rzl
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) June 22, 2023
Imagine the mother right now. Your son and husband just got turned into tomato soup at the bottom of the atlantic. [Reply]