Dwindling air supply: A massive search operation is underway in an area twice the size of Connecticut for the submersible that went missing Sunday – as officials fear there’s less than a day’s worth of oxygen left on board the craft.
Salvage equipment: A US Navy salvage system capable of retrieving objects or vessels off the bottom of the ocean floor has reached St. John’s, Newfoundland, but it has not yet left for the site in the North Atlantic.
Banging sounds: The US Coast Guard said it has not identified the source of banging noises that were picked up by sonar Tuesday and Wednesday during the search.
Boeing says it was not a partner on the Titan, despite OceanGate's 2021 claim of relationship
From CNN’s Celina Tebor
Boeing Wednesday said they were not a partner on the Titan and they did not design or build the submersible, according to a statement from the company.
OceanGate’s claim: A 2021 news release from OceanGate lists Boeing as a partner and stated it provided “Design and engineering support” for the Titan submersible.
On OceanGate’s website, they also stated the Titan was “designed and engineered by OceanGate Inc. in collaboration [with] experts” from Boeing and other entities.
Boeing declined to comment further to CNN about these assertions from OceanGate.
CNN asked OceanGate to comment about its relationship with Boeing and the company said they were unable to provide additional information.
CNN’s Rob Frehse and Paul Murphy contributed to this post.
Link Copied!
University of Washington was not involved in design, engineering or testing of Titan submersible, school says
From CNN’s Celina Tebor
The University of Washington reiterated Wednesday that they were not involved in the design, engineering or testing of the Titan submersible, despite assertions that they were, according to a 2021 court filing by OceanGate.
OceanGate used testing tanks at the UW School of Oceanography for nine tests between 2016 and 2022, Balta said. The tanks were used on a contract basis and no university researchers were involved in those tests and “UW personnel did not provide any verification or validation of any OceanGate equipment as a result of those tests,” Balta added.
CNN reached out to OceanGate for comment about why the company and the University of Washington ended their research agreement. CNN also asked OceanGate what the company was testing in the school’s testing tanks.
Court filing: CNN previously reported that in a 2021 court filing, OceanGate’s legal representative touted the specs and a hull monitoring system that he called “an unparalleled safety feature” built into the Titan. The legal representative told the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, which oversees matters related to the Titanic, of the company’s expedition plans at the time.
The filing laid out the Titan’s testing details and its specifications, including that it had undergone more than 50 test dives and detailing its 5-inch-thick carbon fiber and titanium hull. The filing said OceanGate’s vessel was the result of over eight years of work, including “detailed engineering and development work under a company issued $5 million contract to the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Laboratory.”
Kevin Williams, the executive director of UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory, told CNN Tuesday “the Laboratory was not involved in the design, engineering or testing of the TITAN submersible used in the RMS TITANIC expedition.”
CNN’s Rob Frehse, Jason Kravarik and Paul Murphy contributed to this post.
Link Copied!
Former submarine captain describes possible conditions inside submersible
Ret. Navy Capt. David Marquet, a former submarine captain, during an appearance on CNN on Wednesday, June 21.
CNN
Ret. Navy Capt. David Marquet, a former submarine captain, described Wednesday what he imagines the five passengers are experiencing in the Titan submersible.
Marquet said he imagines the passengers are thirsty and hungry, but that it “is probably not going to kill them.” If alive, he said they are likely to be very uncomfortable.
He told CNN’s Jake Tapper the submersible has a “limited ability” to absorb the exhaled carbon dioxide, which at high levels could trigger headaches, confusion and nausea.
Link Copied!
"A lot of the systems worked but a lot of them really didn’t." TV show host talks about 2021 dive in Titan
From CNN’s Sara Smart
Josh Gates, the host of Discovery Channel’s Expedition Unknown, went aboard a test dive on OceanGate’s Titan in 2021.
CNN
Discovery Channel host Josh Gates, who went on a test dive on OceanGate Expedition’s Titan submersible in 2021, called the news of the missing vessel “surreal” and “haunting.”
Gates, who hosts the adventure show “Expedition Unknown,” told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Wednesday that he had spent time with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and that he knew adventurer, Hamish Harding, both of whom are on the missing vessel.
Gates and his team ultimately decided not to go through with filming a segment about OceanGate’s plans for submersible trips to the Titanic wreck because he felt the program wasn’t ready.
Gates explained that in 2021 he learned there were four ways for the vessel to shed weight and bring it back up to the surface in the case of an emergency.
There is a computer-controlled weight release, a manual-valve system that injects air into exterior ballast containers, a hydraulic system to drop weights and an ability to detach from the sled attached to the submersible and help move the vessel back to the surface.
“On one hand you have this incredibly innovative, novel design,” Gates said. “On the other hand, there are a lot of unknowns.”
Link Copied!
US Coast Guard provides new search pattern graphic
The United States Coast Guard provided a new graphic Wednesday night showing the updated search pattern for the Titan submersible.
Search patterns used in the search for the Titan submersible after it went missing 900 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Coast Guard First District Command Center
The USCG also said the following assets are on their way to the site to assist in the search:
· Canadian CGS Ann Harvey
· Canadian CGS Terry Fox
· Motor Vessel Horizon Arctic (ROV)
· French Research Vessel L’Atalante (ROV)
· His Majesty’s Canadian Ship Glace Bay (mobile decompression chamber and medical personnel)
· Air National Guard C-130
· ROV from Magellan
Link Copied!
Search intensifies for missing submersible as fears grow about dwindling oxygen supply. Here's what we know
From CNN staff
A screengrab from a Canadian Armed Forces Operations video released on June 21, 2023, showing search efforts for the OceanGate Titan submersible.
Canadian Armed Forces
The submersible, known as “Titan,” begins each trip with 96 hours of life support and has been missing since Sunday, setting up Thursday morning as a key target for finding the vessel and those on board.
The US Coast Guard rerouted some of its equipment to try to pinpoint banging sounds heard during the aerial search Tuesday and Wednesday morning in the remote North Atlantic area. Though it didn’t yield any results, the sonar devices from the Canadian P-3 aircraft are being analyzed by the US Navy, officials said Wednesday.
Here’s what we learned today:
How the sub went missing: The vessel, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, began its two-hour descent to the wreck of the Titanic on Sunday morning. (You can see how deep the wreckage is here.) It lost contact with the Polar Prince, the support ship that transported the craft to the location in the North Atlantic, 1 hour and 45 minutes into its descent, officials said. Search operations began later that day. It’s still not clear what happened to the submersible, why it lost contact, and how close it was to the Titanic when it went missing.
What we know about the noises: Banging noises were identified by Canadian aircraft on Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) equipment was relocated to where the noises were detected, according toCapt. Jamie Frederick, the response coordinator for the First Coast Guard District. But searches in the area “yielded negative results,” he said. Data from the plane that identified the noises was sent to the US Navy, but has so far been inconclusive,” Frederick said, adding that the Coast Guard does not know what the sounds were.
What it could be like onboard: The vessel begins each trip with 96 hours of life support, according to OceanGate – and officials believe the five people on board have “limited rations” of food and water. Ret. Navy Capt. David Marquet, a former submarine captain, told CNN the near-freezing water at that depth is probably making the situation very uncomfortable. “There’s frost on the inside of the parts of the submarine. They’re all huddled together trying to conserve their body heat. They’re running low on oxygen and they’re exhaling carbon dioxide,” he said.
The Polar Prince: The support vessel that brought the submersible to the dive site will remain in the ocean until the search is complete, the operator said Wednesday. Horizon Maritime Services said the Polar Prince’s role is to support the Coast Guard and that searchers are “very aware of the time sensitivity around this mission.” There is a crew of 17 people on the vessel, said Sean Leet, the company’s co-founder and chairman.
Specialized equipment: If search crews locate the missing submersible deep in the ocean, authorities will then face a highly complex recovery mission. A US Navy salvage system arrived in St. John’s, Newfoundland, on Wednesday, a Navy official said. The Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System (FADOSS) is capable of retrieving objects or vessels off the bottom of the ocean floor up to a depth of 20,000 feet, but needs first to be welded to a ship which could take a full day, the official said. You can see all of the equipment being used in search efforts here.
Link Copied!
OceanGate declined safety review of Titan submersible, industry leader says
From CNN's Greg Wallace
OceanGate Expeditions, which operated the submersible that went missing Sunday on its way to view the Titanic wreckage, strayed from industry norms by declining a voluntary, rigorous safety review of the vessel known as “Titan,” according to an industry leader.
If OceanGate had pursued a certification review “some of this may have been avoided,” Will Kohnen of the Marine Technology Society told CNN on Wednesday.
Kohnen is president of the group’s submarine committee and described to CNN a 2018 conversation he had with OceanGate founder Stockton Rush addressing the society’s concerns.
“We agreed to disagree,” Kohnen said.
Kohnen drafted a letter to Rush on behalf of the group that outlined the concerns.
“We told him that he should consider certifying it,” Kohnen said, describing the certification as the “gold standard” for safety.
In a 2019 blog post on OceanGate’s website, the company said classing agencies “do not ensure that operators adhere to proper operating procedures and decision-making processes — two areas that are much more important for mitigating risks at sea. The vast majority of marine (and aviation) accidents are a result of operator error, not mechanical failure,” it said.
He also said a working beacon on the vessel would help searchers find it quicker “so that someone could direct themselves in that direction.”
OceanGate did not respond to a request from CNN to comment on the letter, which was obtained by CNN and first reported by the New York Times.
Link Copied!
OceanGate CEO said in 2021 he’s "broken some rules" to make the now-missing submersible
From CNN’s Sabrina Souza and Polo Sandoval
Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate seen in 2017.
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters/FILE
The CEO of OceanGate, the company that operated trips to the Titanic wreckage in a submersible vessel, said in 2021 that he wanted to be remembered as an innovator who broke the rules.
Alan Estrada, a Mexican travel blogger who runs Alan por el mundo, documented his expedition to the Titanic with OceanGate during an aborted attempt in July 2021 and again during a successful visit in 2022 and interviewed OceanGate’s CEO Stockton Rush as part of his series.
Rush is one of the five people aboard the submersible that went missing Sunday, according to a person with knowledge of the mission plan
“I’d like to be remembered as an innovator,” Rush said in the interview. “I think it was General MacArthur who said, ‘You’re remembered for the rules you break’ and you know I’ve broken some rules to make this.”
Rush said the technology he used to build his submersibles is “good engineering.”
“I think I’ve broken them with logic and good engineering behind me, the carbon fiber titanium, there’s a rule you don’t do that. Well, I did,” Rush said.
Rush said innovation meant breaking rules that will add value to society.
Some background: Court filings reveal OceanGate years ago was confronted with safety concerns about the vessel. Two former employees separately raised similar safety concerns about the thickness of the submersible’s hull when they were employed by the company.
When more concerns were raised by contractors and employees during his time at OceanGate, Rush, the CEO, got defensive and shied away from answering questions during all-staff meetings, the other former employee said.
Link Copied!
OceanGate faced hurdles in executing excursions to the Titanic, court records show
From CNN’s Curt Devine and Isabelle Chapman
An undated file photo shows the RMS Titanic shipwreck from a viewport of an OceanGate Expeditions submersible.
From OceanGate Expeditions/FILE
OceanGate Expeditions, the company that operates the missing submersible, faced a series of mechanical problems and inclement weather conditions that forced the cancellation or delays of trips in recent years, according to court records.
The scuttled excursions led to a pair of lawsuits in which some high-paying customers sought to recoup the cost of trips they said they didn’t take. The complaints alleged that the company overstated its ability to reach the Titanic wreckage.
A London-based travel company, Henry Cookson Adventures Ltd, accused OceanGate of not having a “seaworthy vessel” when it entered an agreement in 2016 to take up to nine passengers to the Titanic in 2018. The travel company sought to recover roughly $850,000 it paid OceanGate, according to a civil suit filed in 2021.
OceanGate did not respond to the claims in court and could not be reached for comment.
A post on OceanGate’s website in 2018 stated “delays caused by weather and lightning” prevented the company from completing a series of test dives, but the Henry Cookson Adventures’ lawsuit questioned that description.
The case was dismissed last July by the plaintiff, which did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
More recently, a Florida couple alleged in a lawsuit earlier this year that they were unable to get a refund after their planned Titanic expedition in 2018 with OceanGate was repeatedly postponed, CNN previously reported. The online docket for the case shows no response to the lawsuit.
Some expeditions were delayed after OceanGate was forced to rebuild the Titan’s hull because it showed “cyclic fatigue” and wouldn’t be able to travel deep enough to reach the Titanic’s wreckage, according to a 2020 article by GeekWire, which interviewed the company’s CEO.
In another high-profile cancellation, OceanGate took CBS News’ David Pogue for a dive on its submersible last year, but called off the trip due to an equipment malfunction after descending just 37 feet, Pogue said in the broadcast.
In a later dive, the vessel lost contact with its ship and was unable to find the wreckage. “We were lost for two-and-a-half-hours,” said a passenger who spoke with CBS News.
The company has completed a number of dives to the bottom of the North Atlantic. At least 28 people visited the Titanic with OceanGate last year, according to a November court filing from an advisor to the company.
But on one of those dives, the sub encountered a battery issue and had to be “manually attached to its lifting platform,” which led to “sustained modest damage to its external components,” according to that filing. OceanGate canceled a subsequent mission “for repairs and operational enhancements,” but reached the wreck on others, the filing stated.
The company also completed a series of Titanic-wreckage dives in 2021, according to its website.
Link Copied!
Navy salvage system is in St. John’s and preparing for mobilization, Navy official says
From CNN's Oren Liebermann
A US Navy salvage system has arrived in St. John’s, Newfoundland, a Navy official said Wednesday, as crews prepare it for mobilization to the site of the ongoing search for a missing submersible.
The Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System (FADOSS) is capable of retrieving objects or vessels off the bottom of the ocean floor up to a depth of 20,000 feet, more than enough to reach the wreckage of the Titanic.
But before the FADOSS system can be used, it must be welded to the deck of a ship, a process which can take a full day, the official said.
The Navy does not currently have a vessel lined up to carry the FADOSS to the site, but the official said they are trying to contract a vessel soon.
“We have a vessel of opportunity that we are looking to put under charter, but it is not currently under charter,” said the official.
The FADOSS was most recently used to recover a F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet from the Mediterranean Sea last July. Its deepest recovery to date was at 19,075 feet, the Navy official said.
Asked if it had ever recovered someone alive, the official said, “Usually, we’re recovering objects from the bottom or aircraft from a mishap.”
Link Copied!
Weather near search site has been cooperative for the last few days, CNN meteorologist says
Searching a remote part of the ocean comes with myriad challenges for rescuers, but the weather has at least been on their side for the last 96 hours, CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers said Wednesday.
There are 3 to 6-foot ocean swells in the area of the search, which is about 900 miles off Cape Cod, he said. There are a few clouds hanging around Wednesday afternoon, but forecasts have not shown a big change in wind direction or any systems that could make efforts more difficult, Myers said.
The temperature is somewhere between 55 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit near the Titanic wreck site, he said, but that dramatically changes once in the water. Water temperatures at deeper depths where the submersible could be located are near 39 degrees, Myers said.
Here's what we know about the pilot of the missing Titanic submersible he helped build
From CNN's Allison Morrow
Stockton Rush is seen in an undated photo from OceanGate.
From OceanGate
Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate and one of five people on the submersible missing in the North Atlantic, has cultivated a reputation as a kind of modern-day Jacques Cousteau — a nature lover, adventurer and visionary.
Rush has approached his dream of deep-sea exploration with child-like verve and an antipathy toward regulations — a pattern that has come into sharp relief since Sunday night, when his vessel, the Titan, went missing.
Rush, who graduated from Princeton in 1984 with a degree in aerospace engineering, has said that he never really grew out of his childhood dream of wanting to be an astronaut, but his eyesight wasn’t good enough, according to an interview he gave Smithsonian Magazine in 2019. He founded OceanGate in 2009, with a stated mission of “increasing access to the deep ocean through innovation.”
OceanGate currently operates three submersibles for conducting research, film production, and “exploration travel,” including tours of the site of the Titanic more than 13,000 feet below the ocean’s surface. A seat on that eight-day mission costs $250,000 per person.
Rush, who is 61, said he believes deeply that the sea, rather than the sky, offers humanity the best shot at survival when the Earth’s surface becomes uninhabitable.
In his eagerness to explore, Rush has often appeared skeptical, if not dismissive, of regulations that might slow innovation.
The commercial subversive industry is “obscenely safe” he told Smithsonian, “because they have all these regulations. But it also hasn’t innovated or grown — because they have all these regulations.” Even within OceanGate, warnings from employees about safety appear to have been ignored or disregarded.
School attended by Pakistani national onboard submersible says it is "deeply concerned" by vessel's disappearance
From CNN’s Niamh Kennedy
The school attended by Suleman Dawood, a Pakistani national onboard the submersible that went missing near the Titanic wreckage, said it is “deeply concerned” by the vessel’s disappearance.
ACS Cobham, an international school south of London, said in a statement that its “thoughts are with the Dawood family” and it offered support during “this unprecedented event.”
Suleman Dawood, who attended ACS Cobham, was accompanied on the submersible by his father, Shahzada Dawood, a Pakistani billionaire and the vice chairman of Engro Corporation Limited, one of Pakistan’s largest conglomerates.
Link Copied!
"We have to hold out hope," Horizon Maritime Services representative says
The company that owns the Polar Prince told reporters Wednesday that “we have to hold out hope,” as the search and rescue mission for the Titan continues.
The Polar Prince is the support vessel to that took OceanGate’s Titan out for its expedition and is now assisting with search and rescue.
Leet also said he’s never seen such a response for a search and rescue mission.
“I’ve been in the marine industry since a very young age and seen a lot of different situations, and I’ve never seen equipment of that nature move that quickly,” Leet added. “The response from the US Coast Guard, the US Military, folks at the airport, the people here, various companies who were involved in the mobilization of that equipment…it was done flawlessly.”
Link Copied!
Locating sonar noise is like trying to pinpoint a snare drum in a packed concert stadium, dive expert says
Various environmental factors in the ocean are likely complicating efforts to identify noises heard on sonar as the search for a missing submersible continues into its fourth day, according to one diving expert.
Rick Murcar, who is the international training director for the National Association of Cave Divers and the owner of Aquatic Adventures of Florida Inc., explained that sound travels faster in the water — which is making it more challenging for rescuers to pinpoint where it is coming from.
Things like the currents can deflect the sound so that it appears like it is coming from miles away from where the actual source is.
The Coast Guard said an aircraft picked up on noises Tuesday and Wednesday in the Atlantic Ocean. It relocated equipment to the area, but so far, efforts to figure out what was making the sound have not yielded any results, the Coast Guard said.
Murcar said to think of this effort to locate the noise as trying to pinpoint a specific drum in a stadium full of cheering fans and other instruments.
“Picture a massive stadium that has a roof on it, and you have an aircraft flying over top and it drops sensors down to listen to the sound inside that stadium,” he said. The person inside the stadium is playing a snare in a constant, beating pattern, in addition to all of the other drums he has, Murcar said.
Now, to narrow down the location of that snare, he said, analysts have to first get rid of all of the other environmental noises.
“They have to negate any aspect of the impact that the boating plays into the equation,” he said. In the stadium analogy, this would be things like the fans, the guitars and the keyboards.
“Then they’re going to go look for it with an ROV (a remotely operated vehicle) — with a flashlight in their hand,” he added, completing the analogy.
Link Copied!
Searchers are "very aware of the time sensitivity" in submersible search, Polar Prince owner says
Sean Leet, the co-founder and chairman of Horizon Maritime Services, speaks during a press conference in St. John, Newfoundland, on Wednesday.
CTV Network
Searchers are “very aware of the time sensitivity around this mission,” a representative of the company that owns the Polar Prince said Wednesday afternoon.
The Polar Prince is the support vessel that carried OceanGate’s Titan submersible to the site of the Titanic shipwreck, and it’s now assisting with search and rescue.
Sean Leet, the co-founder and chairman of Horizon Maritime Services, which owns the Polar Prince, also said the company mobilized additional equipment to help with the search Thursday morning.“We are very aware of the time sensitivity around this mission,” Leet said.
He acknowledged how hard it must be for those on the submersible and their families.
Link Copied!
Polar Prince, the submersible's support vessel, will remain in the area until search is complete
The Polar Prince, the vessel that transported the Titan submersible to the dive site, will be assisting in search efforts until the mission is complete, according to the co-founder of the company that owns the support ship.
The role of the Polar Prince is to help the US Coast Guard which is leading the search and rescue, said Sean Leet, the co-founder and Chairman of Horizon Maritime Services.
The former Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker has been supporting the Titanic expedition for several years, Leet said, adding that the emergency procedures on the Polar Prince “kicked in immediately.”
He said he remains in contact with the crew of 17 people on board the Polar Prince.
“Our crews and on-shore teams are experts in their fields and will continue to support this effort in any way we can,” Leet said.
Link Copied!
Horizon Maritime will hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m.
From CNN's Gabe Cohen and Miguel Marquez
Horizon Maritime, which owns the Polar Prince – the support vessel that took OceanGate’s Titan out for the expedition to the Titanic and is now assisting with search and rescue – will hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m. ET in St. John’s, Newfoundland, according to a news release.
Link Copied!
Coast Guard says operation to find missing submersible is "100%" still a search and rescue mission
US Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick speaks to reporters in Boston on Wednesday.
Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images
The Coast Guard and other agencies assisting in the effort to find a missing submersible are still conducting a search and rescue mission, even as oxygen dwindles on board the vessel.
He said officials believe the crew on the submersible has “limited rations” of food and water. Frederick also said that the oxygen available is “just one piece of data” that rescuers are analyzing when coming up with plans and next steps.
“We have to remain optimistic and hopeful when you’re in a search and rescue case,” he said.
Link Copied!
Here's the team that is assisting in the search efforts for the missing sub
The search for the missing submersible called Titan involves surface and subsurface elements, according to Capt. Jamie Frederick, the response coordinator for the First Coast Guard District.
The location of the search is 900 miles off the coast of Cape Cod and 400 miles southeast of St. Johns, which he said makes it “difficult to mobilize large amounts of equipment quickly.”
In light of these details, Frederick said the following was enlisted to help in the search efforts:
Currently, five service assets are searching.
There will be a total 10 surface assets in the next 24-48 hours.
There are two ROVs actively searching.
Several more are en route and will arrive by tomorrow morning.
There are two back-to-back P-3 flights — one is ongoing — which provides a total of 14 hours of continuous on-scene coverage.
Two C-130 flights — one ongoing now — through the day and into the evening.
Link Copied!
Area of the search is now "two times the size of Connecticut," Coast Guard says
Capt. Jamie Frederick, the response coordinator for the First Coast Guard District, said Wednesday the surface search for the missing submersible is now “approximately two times the size of Connecticut and it is up to two-and-a-half miles deep.”
He said that rescuers have “exponentially” expanded the area of the search, and it is expanding “every hour.”
He noted that searchers have to factor in “ever-changing weather conditions” during their operation.
Link Copied!
Searches around site of banging sounds have not yielded any results so far, Coast Guard says
US Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick speaks to reporters in Boston on Wednesday.
Scott Eisen/Getty Images
Searches around the area where noises were identified in the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday and Wednesday morning have “yielded negative results,” the Coast Guard said, adding that crews are still efforting to locate what made the banging sounds.
“We don’t know what they are,” Capt. Jamie Frederick, the response coordinator for the First Coast Guard District, said of the noises.
He said ROV equipment was relocated to look for where it was coming from, and data from the Canadian aircraft that first detected the noises has been shared with experts from the US Navy.
This data will be “considered in future search plans,” Frederick said, adding that so far that data has been studied so far is “inconclusive.”
Link Copied!
NOW: Coast Guard gives update on search of missing submersible
From CNN staff
The Coast Guard is giving an update on the search for a missing submersible near the wreckage of the Titanic. The effort to locate the vessel is now in its fourth day, as agency officials estimate those inside may have less than a day of breathable air left.
Capt. Jamie Frederick, the response coordinator for the First Coast Guard District, is expected to speak in Boston.
Banging sounds were picked up by sonar vessels from the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday, signaling “continued hope of survivors,” according to a US government memo, but so far rescuers haven’t found anything.
Canadian Coast Guard: "We have to keep working until we find the submersible"
From CNN’s Paula Newton
A Canadian Coast Guard official confirmed Wednesday that one of its ships with “advanced deep sonar” has joined the search for the missing Titanic submersible and said that they have to keep searching until the lost vessel is found.
“There have been sounds that have been picked up, and that just means that we will continue to double down and to figure out where the submersible is and how it can be brought to the surface,” Murray added.
Link Copied!
Here's what rescuers are dealing with as they scramble to find the missing sub, according to a diving expert
Barry Lipsky, a public safety diving instructor with Team Lifeguard Systems, outlined how the search for the missing submersible is so complicated for divers attempting to carry out rescue operations.
Visibility is “next to nothing” at some of the ocean depths where the search is taking place, Lipsky said, and rescuers are relying on sonar as their “best tool to identify any location.”
He said that “the rescuers themselves have their own anxiety that they need to contend with” while trying to “stay very focused and keep the morale high.”
When asked how the submersible passengers could help themselves right now, Lipsky said they should focus on staying clam and “reduce their breathing” since the oxygen is limited.
Some more context: Sonar picked up banging sounds Tuesday during the search for the Titan submersible that went missing while descending to tour the Titanic’s wreckage, indicating “continued hope of survivors,” according to an internal US government memo.
Link Copied!
US Coast Guard will give an update this afternoon on missing submersible
From CNN's Laura Ly
A member of the Coast Guard walks by a Coast Guard Cutter in Boston on June 20.
Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images
Capt. Jamie Frederick, the First Coast Guard District response coordinator, will be holding a news conference in Boston, Massachusetts, at 1 p.m. ET on the missing Titanic tour submersible, the US Coast Guard announced today.
What we know: The submersible went missing Sunday during a trip to view the wreckage of the Titanic.
Agency officials estimate there may be less than a day of breathable air left on the vessel.
Link Copied!
Vessel with system for detecting objects on the seafloor joins search effort, Coast Guard says
From CNN's Laura Ly
Establishment of the Unified Command for the 21-foot submersible, Titan, 900 miles east of Cape Cod on June 20.
US Coast Guard Northeast
Three vessels arrived Wednesday morning to join the search effort for the missing Titanic submersible, according to a tweet from the US Coast Guard’s First District.
One of the vessels – the John Cabot – has “side scanning sonar capabilities “ and joins the Skandi Vinland and the Atlantic Merlin on the search, USCG said.
Side scan sonar is a system used for “detecting and imaging objects on the seafloor,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
However, side scan sonar cannot measure depth, so it is frequently used in coordination with other tools to create a more extensive survey of the ocean floor, NOAA said.
Link Copied!
Everything you need to know about the search so far for the missing sub
From left, Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood, Suleman Dawood, Paul-Henri Nargeolet and Stockton Rush
Obtained by CNN
A submersible carrying five people to see the wreckage of theTitanic at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean is still missing despite a massive search operation – but banging sounds were reportedly heard in the area, according to a US governmental memo.
About the excursion: The eight-day journey conducted by OceanGate Expeditions, priced at $250,000 a person, is based out of Newfoundland, with participants first traveling 400 nautical miles to the wreck site, which is about 900 miles (1,450 kilometers) off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. On this particular mission, the submersible, known as Titan, was carrying a pilot and four passengers.
How the sub went missing: The vessel began its two-hour descent to the wreck on Sunday morning. It lost contact with the Polar Prince, the support ship that transported the vessel to the site, 1 hour and 45 minutes into its descent, officials said. Search operations began later that day. It’s still not clear what happened to the submersible, why it lost contact, and how close to the Titanic it was when it went missing.
A race against time: Less than a day of breathable air may be left on the vessel, based on agency officials’ latest estimate. Some parts of Titan are decidedly low-tech. Unlike a submarine, a submersible needs a mother ship to launch it, has fewer power reserves and can’t stay underwater as long. The ship communicates with the vessel by text messages, and it’s required to communicate every 15 minutes, according to OceanGate Expeditions’ archived website. “All those things we’re used to now – GPS, Wi-Fi, radio links – do not work under the ocean,” according to former Navy submarine officer Capt. J. Van Gurley.
Developments in the search efforts: As the craft’s oxygen dwindles,banging sounds have been picked up from the Atlantic Ocean, signaling “continued hope of survivors,” according to a US government memo. The banging first came every 30 minutes and was heard again four hours later, the internal government memo obtained by CNN states. It was unclear when exactly the banging was heard Tuesday or how long it lasted, based on the memo. Rolling Stone was first to report news of the noise.
The tools being used in the search: The underwater sounds were detected Tuesday by sonar devices deployed by a Canadian P-3 aircraft to find the 21-foot vessel that lost contact Sunday. The US is moving in military and commercial assets as aircraft from the Canadian Armed Forces, the US Coast Guard and the New York Air National Guard continue to look above and below water, and France’s president has dispatched a research ship with an underwater robot to join the search Wednesday.
There were safety concerns: OceanGate touted Titan’s safety features, despite conflicting information over its development. CNN has learned of at least two former OceanGate employees who expressed safety concerns about the vessel’s hull years ago, including the thickness of the material used and testing procedures. The 23,000-pound craft is made of highly engineered carbon fiber and titanium. In fact, technology used in the missing Titan sub is so new that it hasn’t been reviewed.
Link Copied!
The search for the missing sub is unfolding off Canada's coast. Here's a map of the area
The Titanic wreckage sits at the bottom of the ocean nearly 13,000 feet below the surface southeast of Newfoundland, Canada.
Here’s a look at a map of the area:
Link Copied!
The ocean's depths are so elusive that only 20% of the seafloor has been mapped
From CNN's Jackie Wattles, Ashley Strickland and Katie Hunt
The submersible vehicle currently lost at sea is part of a relatively new effort enabling tourists and other paying customers to explore the depths of the ocean, the vast majority of which has never been seen by human eyes.
Though people have been exploring the ocean’s surface for tens of thousands of years, only about 20% of the seafloor has been mapped, according to 2022 figures from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Researchers often say that traveling to space is easier than plunging to the bottom of the ocean. While 12 astronauts have spent a collective total of 300 hours on the lunar surface, only three people have spent around three hours exploring Challenger Deep, the deepest known point of Earth’s seabed, according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
There’s a reason deep-sea exploration by humans has been so limited: Traveling to the ocean’s depths means entering a realm with enormous levels of pressure the farther you descend — a high-risk endeavor. The environment is dark with almost no visibility. The cold temperatures are extreme.
Many of the factors that could make the vessel so difficult to locate and recover are also the reasons a comprehensive exploration of the ocean floor remains elusive.
“Aquatic search is pretty tricky, as the ocean floor is a lot more rugged than on land,” said Dr. Jamie Pringle, a reader in forensic geoscience at England’s Keele University, in a statement.
Coast Guard has shared information about banging noises with Navy, commander says
From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia
U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger, commander of the First Coast Guard District, speaks to the media, on June 19, in Boston.
Steven Senne/AP
US Coast Guard First District Commander Rear Adm. John Mauger expanded upon the search efforts for the missing Titanic submersible after banging noises were detected by sonobuoys in the ocean.
“We don’t know the source of that noise, but we’ve shared that information with Navy experts to classify it,” he told “CBS This Morning.”
In the meantime, the international unified command involved the search effort has “reprioritized the two remote operated vehicles that we have searching in the water and the one surface vessel that has sonar capability on the surface of the water in the area of those noises to see if we can locate the source of those noises and locate the people on the submersible,” Mauger said.
Asked how common it was to pick up noises, the rear admiral said it’s an “incredibly complex site.”
Asked how long officials will hold out hope on finding the submersible, Mauger said, “As long as there’s an opportunity for survival, we will continue to work with this broad unified command to bring every resource to bear on the search.”
Over the next 24 hours, he said the Coast Guard will continue to bring in additional vessels, remote-operated vehicles and aircraft to scour the area.
Link Copied!
Technology used in the missing Titan sub is so new that it hasn't been reviewed
From CNN's Samantha Delouya
This undated photo provided by OceanGate Expeditions in June 2021 shows the company's Titan submersible.
OceanGate Expeditions/AP
Only a handful of people have seen the Titanic’s wreckage in person, because precious few have what it takes to visit: the financial resources, access to experts – and a willingness to accept the significant safety risk.
But for those willing to shell out, tourism and research company OceanGate Expeditions offered eight-day missions that cost $250,000 per person and allow customers to explore the Titanic more than 13,000 feet below the ocean’s surface using five-seat carbon fiber and titanium underwater vessels. Based in Everett, Washington, the company was founded in 2009 by aerospace engineer Stockton Rush, who is also aboard the submersible, according to a source with knowledge of the mission plan.
Extreme tourism has become a growing trend among thrill-seekers looking for an adrenaline rush, pushing the boundaries of conventional travel and, sometimes, of safe travel.
But this ultra-luxury excursion also poses a regulatory challenge. The missing Titan submersible is not subject to government regulations from independent groups that set safety standards because the technology is so new and hasn’t yet been reviewed, the tour operator claims.
“However, this does not mean that OceanGate doesn’t meet standards where they apply, but it does mean that innovation often falls outside of the existing industry paradigm,” said the company in a 2019 post on its website.
It added that organizations can take years to review and approve new standards, and that other OceanGate vessels do have approved classing.
On a November 2022 “Unsung Science” podcast hosted by CBS correspondent David Pogue, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush said exploration comes with innate risk.
CNN’s Brad Lendon and Parija Kavilanz contributed to this report.
Link Copied!
Friend of submersible passenger calls him "perpetually curious"
Vice-Chairman of Engro Corporation Limited Shahzada Dawood in this undated handout picture.
“I guess I was elated on one hand. On the other hand, certainly, I’m aware if they are alive and OK, that fear and desperation must be just something unimaginable. But it is certainly very helpful news, and we continue to hope for an amazing outcome here,” said Diamond, CEO of SETI Institute, where Shahzada Dawood is a trustee.
Diamond said he had recently seen Dawood at a board meeting, and he was excitedly discussing his trip on the submersible to tour the Titanic’s wreckage.
“I never thought of him as a daredevil in any sense. Again, somebody who I think, understanding the risks, would be willing to do something that some might consider extreme, just to satisfy those curiosities and callings,” Diamond added.
Along with the Dawoods, British businessman Hamish Harding, French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet and OceanGate founder and CEO Stockton Rush have been confirmed to be on board the craft.
Link Copied!
Stranded passengers would hear acoustic signals from search team, oceanographer says
From CNN's Rob Picheta
Sounds of underwater banging in the search for the missing sub have echoes of the futile search for MH370, the Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared from radar in 2014, a leading oceanographer told CNN.
But authorities “probably will start moving ships and tools in that direction, whether it’s identified or not, because the time is short,” Gallo added.
Gallo’s company owns exclusive salvage rights at the Titanic wreck site. He said that banging on the vessel to transmit noise is “something PH Nargeolet would certainly do.” Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a renowned explorer, is one of the stranded passengers on the submersible.
“One of the wonders I have is: did (searchers) make any signal back, acoustically, to signal to the sub that we hear their signal?” Gallo said. “Sound carries very easily through the ocean … you would hear it in the sub for sure.”
Link Copied!
Passengers will be "breathing as little as possible" to save energy, diver says
From CNN's Rob Picheta
Paul-Henri Nargeolet, director of a deep ocean research project dedicated to the Titanic, poses inside the new exhibition dedicated to the sunken ship, at 'Paris Expo', on May 31, 2013, in Paris, France.
Joel Sagat/AFP/Getty Images
Paul-Henri Nargeolet, one of the five people on board the missing submersible, is an “extraordinary leader” in crisis situations, a friend and fellow diver has told CNN.
Joe MacInnis, a physician and renowned diver who has himself made two trips to the Titanic wreck, said of Nargeolet:
MacInnis was involved in a 1991 dive to film the Titanic wreck for an IMAX movie. He told CNN’s “Early Start” that the five stranded passengers will be “holding onto their assets — their emotional assets, their physical assets.”
MacInnis added that the three most concerning risks for any dive are fire, hull failure and entanglements. “These are the things that all folks who go into the deep ocean seriously worry about,” he said.
“We’re all caught in this swirl of emotions from sadness to hope, fear, uncertainty,” he said of the search. But on the revelation that banging noises were detected Tuesday, he said: “There’s some possible promise in what we’ve just heard.”
Link Copied!
Who's on board the missing submersible
Authorities said the Titan submersible was carrying five people when its mothership lost contact with it on Sunday, about 1 hour and 45 minutes into its descent to explore the Titanic wreckage.
Here’s what we know about the people on board:
Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French diver with decades of experience exploring the Titanic, is on the vessel, according to his family.
Nargeolet serves as the director of underwater research at RMS Titanic Inc., the company that has exclusive rights to salvage artifacts from the ship. According to his biography on the company’s website, Nargeolet completed 35 dives to the wreck and supervised the recovery of 5,000 artifacts. He spent 22 years in the French Navy, where he rose to the rank of a commander, the website says.
British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding is on the submersible, his company Action Aviation said in a social media statement.
Harding made headlines in 2019 for being part of a flight crew that broke the world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe via both poles. In 2020, he became one of the first people to dive to Challenger Deep in the Pacific Ocean, widely believed to be the deepest point in the world’s oceans. Last year, he paid an undisclosed sum of money for one of the seats on Blue Origin’s space flight.
The family of Shahzada Dawood and his son, Sulaiman Dawood, said the two are on board. A family statement said the duo had taken the “journey to visit the remnants of the Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean.”
The Dawoods are a prominent Pakistani business family. Dawood Hercules Corporation, their business, is among the largest corporations in the country, with a portfolio spanning energy, petrochemicals, fertilizers, IT, food and agriculture.
OceanGate CEO and founder Stockton Rush is among the five onboard, according to a source with knowledge of the mission plan.
The company did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment about Rush being aboard. According to the company’s social media posts, he has previously piloted “Titan,” the missing vessel.
Link Copied!
What the explorers aboard the missing submersible would expect on their trip
From CNN staff
Polar Prince, a vessel used to transport the missing submersible to the site of the Titanic wreckage before the expedition.
From Hamish Harding/Facebook
The missing submersible’s trip to the wreckage of the Titanic was the final expedition of five such tours scheduled for this year, an archived version of the operator’s website said.
OceanGate Expeditions said each eight-day trip is a “unique travel experience” that also helps the scientific community as “every dive also has a scientific objective,” according to an archived version of the itinerary seen by CNN, which is no longer accessible on their website.
Here’s an overview of the itinerary:
Day 1: Divers arrive at St. John’s, Newfoundland, meet the expedition crew and board the ship that will take them to the Titanic wreck site. The Polar Prince was the support ship that transported the crew for this current mission.
Day 2: The ship continues out to the dive site in the North Atlantic Ocean. The expedition leader will go over safety information and dive logistics. The science team and content experts will also help divers prepare what they may discover on the dive.
Day 3-7: Diving begins depending on the sea conditions. Final dive checks take place before crew members board the five-person Titan submersible. Those not diving the first day “will be incorporated into other areas of dive ops — like driving the dingy, assisting the Expedition Manager, collecting media,” the website said. For those onboard the Titan, the descent takes about two hours and crew members will assist the pilot “with coms and tracking, take notes for the science team about what you see outside of the viewport, watch a movie or eat lunch,” it said. “Soon you will arrive at depth, and after some navigating across the seafloor and debris field, finally see what you’ve been waiting for: the RMS Titanic.” An onboard content expert will point out key features of the wreck and animal life while exploring the wreck, it said. “Enjoy hours of exploring the wreck and debris field before making the two-hour ascent to the surface,” the website said.
Day 8: The ship makes the 380-mile journey back to St. Johns.
Five more expeditions were planned for 2024, according to the archived version of the itinerary.
Link Copied!
No seats and one toilet: What it's like inside the submersible
From CNN staff
From OceanGate/FILE
The missing submersible is a small vessel designed to only hold five people for a day — two hours down, several hours exploring the Titanic and two hours back to the surface.
Last year, the founder of tour operator OceanGate Expeditions showed a CBS team the inside of a submersible used to visit the Titanic’s wreckage. The CBS video shows a small chamber, with about as much space as a minivan.
There are no chairs or seats and the passengers sit cross-legged on the floor, having taken off their shoes before entering.
For such an advanced submersible, the interior is mostly bare and simple, with just one button and a screen on the wall. The rest of the vessel’s operations are run on a handheld controller that looks remarkably similar to a gaming console, complete with colorful buttons.
It recommended that passengers restrict their diet before and during the dive “to reduce the likelihood that you will need to use the facilities.”
Race for specialized deep sea and salvage equipment as search enters fourth day
From CNN staff
As the search for the missing submersible enters its fourth day, multiple agencies are racing against time to get the specialized equipment needed for their efforts.
While a lot of the search has been focused on the surface of the water, the team now has underwater search capability on scene, US Coast Guard First District Commander Rear Adm. John Mauger said Tuesday.
If search crews locate the missing submersible deep in the ocean, authorities will then face a highly complex mission to recover the craft and any survivors.
The Titanic wreckage lies around 12,500 feet below sea level — about 10 times the height of the Empire State Building.
Here’s where the search is on Day 4:
Joint operation: The US Coast Guard has been coordinating with the US Navy and Canadian Coast Guard since Sunday. Due to its familiarity with the site, submersible operator OceanGate is helping to set priorities, Mauger said. The US Coast Guard said a Bahamian research vessel was also conducting remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operations.
Pipe-laying vessel: On Tuesday, the vessel Deep Energy, a 194-meter pipe-laying vessel with underwater capabilities, arrived on scene and rendezvoused with the Polar Prince, the vessel the submersible launched from at its last known position, said Capt. Jamie Frederick, with the First Coast Guard District.
Assets en route: Other vessels are on the way, including some privately owned crafts that are “making preparations” to help with the “very complex” search, Mauger said. The US Coast Guard said additional assets joining include several Canadian vessels such as a ship with a mobile decompression chamber and medical personnel.
International help: French President Emmanuel Macron has ordered the dispatch of the research ship Atalante to join the search, which is equipped with an underwater robot that can reach as deep as 4,000 meters [13,000 feet].
Deep ocean salvage: The US Navy is sending experts and a Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System to assist. The FADOSS is a “motion compensated lift system designed to provide reliable deep ocean lifting capacity for the recovery of large, bulky, and heavy undersea objects such as aircraft or small vessels.” A Navy information page on the FADOSS says it can lift up to 60,000 pounds.
Magellan ROVs: Deep sea-mapping company Magellan, best known for its imagery of the Titanic and whose deep sea diving equipment is able to reach the depths, is trying to get involved in the search. But most of that equipment is in Europe and needs a C-17 Globemaster III military cargo jet with the ability to deliver it to Canada, Magellan’s chair said.
US military assets: The US military is moving assets to help, according to the Coast Guard and US Transportation Command. The assets will be moved first to St. John’s in Canada and then taken to the search area. It is unclear what assets or equipment are on the flights or to whom they belong. The Pentagon has also said it is assisting.
From the air: Two C-130 aircraft made search and rescue flights over the area on Monday, and an Air National Guard C-130 joined efforts Tuesday, the Pentagon said. Meanwhile, Air National Guard members including a team of pararescue jumpers flew 900 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean in a HC-130J Combat King aircraft, where they deployed infrared radar, the New York Air National Guard said.
Recovering the sub: Ret. Navy Capt. Ray Scott “Chip” McCord said: “There’s very few assets in the world that can go down that deep.” Once crews have narrowed their search, they could deploy a cargo van-sized remote-operated craft to locate the submersible,” he said. The ROV is tethered to a surface ship with a 2-inch thick cable to provide power and communication. It could be moved to a Canadian port by military aircraft, loaded onto a ship by crane, and then steamed to the search site, McCord said. However, US military ROVs have electric motors and cameras, but do not have the capacity to lift the missing vessel, he added.
Link Copied!
Expert tells CNN recovery will happen in phases if rescuers can locate the missing submersible
Rick Murcar, owner of Aquatic Adventures of Florida, described the phases of recovery that rescuers will go through if they can locate the missing submersible.
“That’s going to be a long process,” he added.
Coast Guard officials on Tuesday afternoon estimated there is “about 40 hours of breathable air left” in the submersible, which went missing Sunday on a trip to view the wreckage of the Titanic.
So far, the Coast Guard and its partners’ search efforts have “not yielded any results,” Capt. Jamie Frederick, with the First Coast Guard District Response Department, said Tuesday.
Link Copied!
Titanic's fate has long been a source of fascination. Here are some key facts about the luxury liner
From CNN staff
The port bow railing of the Titanic lies in 12,600 feet of water about 400 miles east of Nova Scotia as photographed as part of a joint scientific and recovery expedition sponsored by the Discovery Channel and RMS Titantic.
Reuters/FILE
The submersible that has gone missing in the North Atlantic was part of an expedition to view the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, perhaps the most famous shipwreck in the world.
More than 100 years after its disastrous maiden voyage, the fate of the luxury liner has long served as a source of fascination, and been the backdrop for countless books, fiction and non-fiction and, of course, a blockbuster movie.
The ship set sail from Southampton, England, to New York on April 10, 1912.
Then, between April 14 to 15, it hit an iceberg around midnight and sank in less than three hours.
A total of 1,517 people died and 706 survived out of 2,223 passengers and crew, according to the US Senate report on the disaster.
Here are more interesting facts about the Titanic:
The ship: The estimated cost of construction was $7.5 million. At the time, the RMS Titanic was the largest passenger ship afloat. The ship’s length was 882 feet, 9 inches, and it weighed 46,328 tons. Its top speed was 23 knots. The wreckage is located about 350 miles off the southeast coast of Newfoundland.
How the Titanic sank: The iceberg punctured five of 16 supposedly watertight compartments designed to hold water in case of a breach to the hull. Investigations at the time blamed Capt. Edward Smith for going too fast in dangerous waters, initial ship inspections that had been done too quickly, insufficient room in the lifeboats for all passengers, and a nearby ship’s failure to help. Many maritime safety reforms were implemented as a result of the findings of the investigations.
Smith went down with the ship, and his body was never recovered.
Key dates post-shipwreck:
September 1, 1985: Scientists from Woods Hole Deep Submergence LAB in Massachusetts, led by Dr. Robert Ballard, and IFREMER, the French Institute Francais de Recherche pour l’Exploitation des Mers, led by Jean Jarry, locate the wreckage of Titanic.
July 13, 1986: Ballard and his crew use the manned deep-ocean research submersible Alvin to explore the wreckage. The Alvin is accompanied by a remotely operated vehicle named Jason Jr. to conduct photographic surveys and further inspections.
May 31, 2009: The last known survivor, Millvina Dean, dies at age 97.
April 8-20, 2012: The 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s voyage. The MS Balmoral traces the ship’s route from Southampton to New York and holds a memorial service, above the wreck, on April 15.
Summer, 2022: Deep sea investigators Magellan and filmmakers Atlantic Productions use deep sea mapping to create “an exact ‘Digital Twin’ of the Titanic wreck for the first time.”
Search teams should send assets "right away" after banging heard, expert says
A renowned oceanographer said Tuesday he was “hopeful” after banging sounds were heard during the search for the missing Titan submersible — and teams must not wait to “get assets there.”
“My hope is that they spent a lot of time and assets trying to locate where the bangs are coming from,” said David Gallo, senior adviser for strategic initiatives at RMS Titanic Inc.
“Time is of the essence because once you … have an area where you know that the bangs are coming from … you need to get assets there — submarines and robots — over that spot to investigate.
Friend aboard: Gallo called French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who is one of five people on board the missing vessel, his “very good friend.”
He “is the kind of person that if he were in that submarine, he would think this thoroughly through and would do something like that every 30 minutes,” Gallo told CNN.
“But they have to get moving, get stuff over there right away.”
Link Copied!
US Coast Guard says underwater noises detected but subsequent searches "yielded negative results"
The US Coast Guard said early Wednesday that a Canadian aircraft assisting with search operations “detected underwater noises in the search area” but subsequent searches “yielded negative results.”
Earlier, an internal US government memo said crews searching for the submersible heard banging at 30 minute intervals, and a Canadian P3 aircraft also located a white rectangular object in the water.
It is unclear whether the update from the US Coast Guard relates to the same event.
Link Copied!
Explorers Club says its working on approval for deep-sea mapping company to join the search
From CNN's Dave Alsup
Explorers Club President Richard Garriott de Cayeux said they are continuing to work on getting approval for deep sea-mapping company Magellan to be allowed to deploy and assist in the search for the missing submersible.
Magellan, best known for its one-of-a-kind deep sea imagery of the Titanic, operates deep-sea diving equipment, including Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) capable of reaching the needed depths, according to its website.
In a letter sent to club membership Tuesday, Cayeux listed four points, which he said gave the club “much greater confidence.”
Here’s what he said:
There is cause for hope, based on data from the field – we understand that likely signs of life have been detected at the site
They precisely understand the experienced personnel and tech we can help deploy
We believe they are doing everything possible with all resources they have
We now have direct lines to the highest levels of Congress, The Coast Guard, Air Force, Navy and The White House, thanks to your support. We continue to work on approval for the Magellan ROVs to be allowed to deploy to the site as we believe they can provide invaluable assistance
Magellan says they need a plane: Earlier Tuesday, CNN spoke with Magellan’s chairman David Thompson, who said his company had received written notice from OceanGate Expeditions to mobilize early Monday and help.
However, they need an aircraft with the ability to transport their deep-sea diving equipment from the UK to Canada to launch their operation. Specifically, he said, they would require the use of a C-17 Globemaster III military jet.
Thompson said the US Air Force or UK Royal Airforce have not gotten back to Magellan letting them know if or when a plane can be procured for them to use to transport the equipment they need to Canada to embark on rescue efforts.
Link Copied!
Search crews racing to find the missing sub heard banging sounds Tuesday. Here's what to know
From CNN staff
Crews searching for the Titan submersible that went missing near the wreckage of the Titanic heard banging sounds in 30 minute intervals Tuesday, according to an internal government memo update on the search. Banging was still heard four hours later, after additional sonar devices were deployed.
It was unclear when the banging was heard on Tuesday or for how long, based on the memo. A subsequent update sent Tuesday night suggested more sounds were heard, though it was not described as “banging.” Still, it indicates “continued hope of survivors,” the update said.
It comes as the five people onboard have less than 40 hours of breathable air left, the US Coast Guard said Tuesday at about 1 p.m. ET — more than 11 hours ago.
Here’s where things stand:
Some background: The submersible was part of an eight-day expedition to the Titanic conducted by OceanGate Expeditions. The search is focused around the site of the shipwreck, about 900 miles off the coast of Cape Cod. The submersible began its two-hour descent Sunday morning. It lost contact with the Polar Prince, the support ship that transported the vessel to the site, less than two hours into its descent, officials said. Search operations began later that day.
Latest on search efforts: The urgent search has not yielded anything so far, but the US Coast Guard is working “around the clock” to try to find the missing submersible, Capt. Jamie Frederick, with the First Coast Guard District Response Department, said in a briefing Tuesday. In addition to looking on the surface of the water, the team has underwater search capability on the scene, another Coast Guard official said. Deep sea-mapping company Magellan, most famously known for its one-of-a-kind deep sea imagery of the Titanic, is also working to get its equipment to the site. Weather and fog complicated aerial search efforts Monday, according to officials. But, conditions cleared up on Tuesday.
Collaborative assistance: The US Navy is sending experts and a “Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System” — which can lift small vessels — to assist, a spokesperson said Tuesday. The US military is moving military and commercial assets, according to the Coast Guard and US Transportation Command. France said it has dispatched a ship with an underwater robot.
Who is inside: There are five people in the submersible, according to multiple authorities. One of them is Stockton Rush, CEO and founder of OceanGate, the company leading the voyage, according to a source with knowledge of the mission plan. The others are British businessman Hamish Harding, Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman Dawood, and French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
Family and friends of passengers: A friend of Harding told CNN the explorer is “larger than life” and would be “calm and collected” in an emergency. A colleague of Nargeolet said the community of explorers and scientists is “in shock.” Another friend of the French submariner said he had been to the Titanic wreckage dozens of times and dedicated his professional life to its history.
Safety concerns: Industry leaders expressed concerns five years ago about OceanGate’s “experimental approach” to the Titan submersible and its planned Titanic trip, the New York Times reported. Specifically, it expressed concern over the company’s compliance with a maritime risk assessment certification known as DNV-GL. Separately, two former OceanGate employees voiced safety concerns years ago about the sub’s hull, and a statement from a research lab appears to show conflicting information about the engineering and testing that went into the development of the vessel.
Link Copied!
Banging sounds heard during Titan search Tuesday, according to internal government memo
From CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez
Crews searching for the Titan submersible heard banging sounds every 30 minutes Tuesday, according to an internal government memo update on the search.
Four hours later, after additional sonar devices were deployed, banging was still heard, the memo said. It was unclear when the banging was heard Tuesday or for how long, based on the memo.
A subsequent update sent Tuesday night suggested more sounds were heard, though it was not described as “banging.”
A Canadian P3 aircraft also located a white rectangular object in the water, according to that update, but another ship set to investigate was diverted to help research the acoustic feedback instead, according to that update.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Center is working to find an underwater remote operated vehicle to help assist in the search, according to the memo.
CNN has reached out to OceanGate, the US Coast Guard in Boston and Canadian authorities for comment.
Rolling Stone was first to report the news Tuesday night.
CNN’s Andy Rose and Paul Murphy contributed to this report.
Link Copied!
OceanGate explains why the Titan submersible is not "classed"
From CNN’s Celina Tebor
In a 2019 blog post on OceanGate’s website, the company said most marine operations “require that chartered vessels are ‘classed’ by an independent group such as the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), DNV/GL, Lloyd’s Register, or one of the many others.”
This “classing” system ensures vessels are designed and built following regulations such as the number of life rafts or types of materials used.
It said classing innovative designs often requires a multiyear approval process, which gets in the way of rapid innovation.
Classing agencies “do not ensure that operators adhere to proper operating procedures and decision-making processes — two areas that are much more important for mitigating risks at sea. The vast majority of marine (and aviation) accidents are a result of operator error, not mechanical failure,” it said.
“Classing assures ship owners, insurers, and regulators that vessels are designed, constructed and inspected to accepted standards. Classing may be effective at filtering out unsatisfactory designers and builders, but the established standards do little to weed out subpar vessel operators — because classing agencies only focus on validating the physical vessel,” it read.
Link Copied!
OceanGate touted Titan's safety features, despite conflicting info over its development
From CNN’s Celina Tebor
In a 2021 court filing, OceanGate’s legal representative touted the specifications and a hull monitoring system that he called “an unparalleled safety feature” built into the Titan submersible.
The legal representative informed the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, which oversees matters related to the Titanic, of the company’s expedition plans at the time.
The filing lays out the Titan’s testing details and its specifications, including that it had undergone more than 50 test dives and detailing its 5-inch-thick carbon fiber and titanium hull.
The filing said OceanGate’s vessel was the result of more than eight years of work, including “detailed engineering and development work under a company issued $5 million contract to the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Laboratory.”
But according to the University of Washington, the laboratory never dealt with design or engineering for OceanGate’s Titan vessel.
In a statement to CNN, Kevin Williams, the executive director of UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory, said the lab’s expertise involved “only shallow water implementation,” and “the Laboratory was not involved in the design, engineering or testing of the TITAN submersible used in the RMS TITANIC expedition.”
In 2022, the legal representative updated the Virginia court on OceanGate’s expeditions in another court filing.
There were no submersible-related issues that canceled dives on the third, fourth, or fifth missions, according to the court filing.
CNN has reached out to OceanGate for comment.
Link Copied!
US Coast Guard releases image showing search pattern for missing submersible
From CNN's Amanda Jackson
Search patterns used in the search for the Titan submersible.
US Coast Guard
The US Coast Guard released an image showing the search pattern for the Titan submersible — and provided an update on existing and incoming resources that are expected to aid in the search for the underwater vessel.
A New York Air National Guard C-130 arrived at about 4 p.m. to assist in the search, joining “Deep Energy,” a Bahamian research vessel that arrived around 7 a.m., and was conducting remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operations, the Coast Guard said.
The following additional assets are also en route to the scene, the US Coast Guard said:
Canadian CGS John Cabot
Canadian CGS Ann Harvey
Canadian CGS Terry Fox
Canadian CGS Atlantic Merlin (ROV)
Motor Vessel Horizon Arctic
Commercial Vessel Skandi Vinland (ROV)
French Research Vessel L’Atalante (ROV)
HM Canadian Ship Glace Bay (mobile decompression chamber and medical personnel)
Link Copied!
NY Times: Submersible industry leaders were concerned about OceanGate's "experimental" approach
From CNN's Elizabeth Hartfield
Industry leaders expressed concerns five years ago about OceanGate Expeditions’ “experimental approach” to the Titan submersible and its planned trip to the site of the Titanic wreckage, the New York Times reported Tuesday
The Manned Underwater Vehicles committee of the Marine Technology Society penned a letter to OceanGate’s CEO Stockton Rush in 2018, it said.
Specifically, it expressed concern over the company’s compliance with a maritime risk assessment certification known as DNV-GL.
“Your marketing material advertises that the TITAN design will meet or exceed the DNV-GL safety standards, yet it does not appear that Oceangate has the intention of following DNV-GL class rules,” the letter said.
The leaders wrote that portraying the Titan this way is misleading to the public and “breaches an industry-wide professional code of conduct we all endeavor to uphold.”
OceanGate has not responded to a request for comment on the letter.
The company’s CEO, Stockton Rush, is one of the five passengers onboard the missing Titan submersible, a source told CNN on Tuesday.
Link Copied!
The submersible lost contact less than 2 hours into its descent. Here's the path to the Titanic wreckage
From CNN's Lou Robinson
The Titan submersible, a small vessel carrying five people, was on a trip to view the wreckage of the Titanic when it lost contact with the Polar Prince, the vessel that transported it to the North Atlantic Ocean.
The wreckage lies around 12,500 feet below sea level — that’s about 10 times the height of the Empire State Building.
Here’s a look at what the descent to the wreckage site is like:
Link Copied!
US Navy sending experts and deep ocean salvage system to aid in submersible search
From CNN's Haley Britzky and Oren Liebermann
The US Navy is sending subject matter experts and a “Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System (FADOSS)” to assist in the search and rescue of a tour sub that has been missing since Sunday, a spokesperson said Tuesday.
The FADOSS is a “motion compensated lift system designed to provide reliable deep ocean lifting capacity for the recovery of large, bulky, and heavy undersea objects such as aircraft or small vessels,” the spokesperson said.
A Navy information page on the FADOSS says it can lift up to 60,000 pounds.
The equipment and personnel are expected to arrive at St. John’s by Tuesday night and will be in support of the US Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard said Tuesday that the search has not yielded anything so far, but it is continuing to look both on the surface and underwater for the missing submersible. Officials estimated at about 1 p.m. ET Tuesday that the crew onboard has “about 40 hours of breathable air left.”
Link Copied!
Timeline: The submersible was last seen heading into the water on Sunday morning
From CNN's Gabe Cohen
The Titan submersible went missing while it was on a tour of the wreckage of the Titanic. Here is the timeline that was set for the vessel, according to Miawpukek Maritime Horizon Services, which co-owns the Polar Prince, the support ship that helped launch Titan.
All times are in Atlantic Daylight Time, which is 1.5 hours ahead of Eastern Time:
Friday, June 16: The Polar Prince departs St. John’s, Newfoundland.
Saturday, June 17: The Polar Prince arrives at the dive site.
Sunday, June 18:
9 a.m. The dive operations start.
11:47 a.m. The last communication between the vessel and surface staff of OceanGate, the group that was conducting the expedition, is recorded.
6:10 p.m. This is the time the vessel was originally scheduled to resurface.
6:35 p.m. Authorities are notified and a response operation is initiated.
Link Copied!
What it's like inside the missing vessel
From CNN's Lauren Said-Moorhouse
Officials are racing against the clock to locate the civilian submersible that had five people aboard when it went missing Sunday.
CNN’s Gabe Cohen has previously reported on the operator OceanGate Expeditions and had toured the Titan vessel out of the water during his time at CNN affiliate KOMO in 2018.
Speaking to CNN This Morning, Cohen said he recalled being “blown away by how simple” the onboard tech seemed.
“It’s this tiny vessel, quite cramped and small. You have to sit inside of it, shoes off… It is operated… by a gaming controller, what essentially looks like a PlayStation controller,” he explained.
“It could dive 13,000 feet down into the ocean and handle 150 million pounds of pressure that it would feel on the ocean floor.
The company was founded in 2009 by its current CEO Stockton Rush. Cohen explained that the company has conducted many science-driven expeditions to various shipwrecks, not just the Titanic, over the years.
While discussing the use of consumer-friendly products used onboard, like the game controller, Cohen said that he’d asked OceanGate about it. “They also stressed that the carbon fiber structure of Titan could reliably pull off a mission like this. They did not spare any expense or cut any corners to pull that off — that is what they repeatedly said to me.”
He continued: “I interviewed Stockton Rush several times. Not just him but his staff and crew. They talked about safety over and over and how confident they were in the technology of this vessel, and the other vessels they had designed over time, but we have since learned that Titan has had some issues before with communication.”
Cohen referred to a CBS report that last year the vessel was lost for more than two hours unable to get messages from the surface, which it relies on to figure out where to go as there’s no GPS underwater.
