Search underway for submersible with five crew on Titanic-wreck expedition

By John Gittelsohn and Angus Whitley

Searchers 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. 

“Our entire focus is on the crew members in the submersible and their families,” OceanGate Expeditions, which runs underwater vessels for charter and scientific exploration, said in a statement Monday. “We are working toward the safe return of the crew members.”

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 900 miles (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.

The missing submersible, the Titan, carries a pilot and four crew members to a maximum depth of 4,000 meters (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. In a Twitter post Sunday, the company said “the sub had a successful launch and Hamish is currently diving.”

According to several newspapers including the Australian, Stockton Rush, founder and chief executive officer of OceanGate, and French pilot Paul-Henry Nargeolet, are also on board. The company didn’t reply to an email seeking to confirm those details.

Harding posted on social media two days ago that the area was experiencing its worst weather in 40 years.

“A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow,” he wrote. “This mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023.” 

OceanGate says it offers 10-day expeditions to the Titanic site, providing “qualified explorers” the opportunity to join as mission specialists, paying fees to underwrite their training and participation with science teams exploring the ship that sank in 1912 on its maiden transatlantic voyage after hitting an iceberg. The guests pay a quarter-million dollars, according to the New York Times, which first reported the rescue operation. 

The search is receiving “extensive assistance” from several government agencies and deep-sea companies in trying to reestablish contact with the missing submersible, according to the OceanGate statement. 

Everett, Washington-based OceanGate ran expeditions to explore the wreck in 2021 and 2022, according to its website. A photo of a submersible and the Titanic dive operations was posted on its Twitter feed on June 1.

Trips consist of eight days at sea to survey the wreckage and document the sunken vessel’s condition, as well as flora and fauna inhabiting the wreck site.