Race against time to rescue titans in missing Titanic submersible

John Gittelsohn & Angus Whitley

Rescuers raced to find a submersible diving vessel with five people aboard that went missing in the North Atlantic while on an expedition to view the Titanic shipwreck.

The US Coast Guard received a call Sunday from the submersible’s command ship, the Polar Prince, saying it lost contact with the vessel about 1,450 kilometers east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, according to Lt. Samantha Corcoran, a Coast Guard spokesperson in Boston. 

A C-130 plane with radar capability was dispatched to search the area Sunday, and was joined Monday by a Canadian P-8 Poseidon, an aircraft designed for anti-submarine warfare. 

“We’re focused on the search and hoping to safely locate all five individuals,” Corcoran said.

OceanGate Expeditions, the operator of the expedition to the Titanic, said in a statement it was “exploring and mobilising all options to bring the crew back safely.”

The company’s missing submersible, the Titan, carries a pilot and four crew to a maximum depth of 13,120 feet and can monitor their health in real time. The system provides “early warning detection for the pilot with enough time to arrest the descent and safely return to surface,” according to OceanGate’s website.
 

The Titan also has a life-support system that can sustain a five-person crew for 96 hours, according to the website. The vessel is 6.7 meters long and is made of carbon fiber and titanium.

Among those missing is Hamish Harding, chairman of Action Aviation, according to Mark Butler, managing director of the Dubai-based aircraft brokerage.  Two other members of the crew, Engro Corp Vice Chairman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, are from one of Pakistan’s most prominent business families. A rescue effort led by several government agencies and deep-sea firms was attempting to re-establish contact with the missing submersible.

According to several newspapers Stockton Rush, founder and chief executive officer of OceanGate, and French pilot Paul-Henry Nargeolet, are also on board.
 

The guests pay $250,000, according to the New York Times.  OceanGate says it offers 10-day expeditions to the Titanic site, providing “qualified explorers” the opportunity to join as mission specialists.