London Knocking signals from the depths of the Atlantic around 900 miles off the coast of the USA raise hopes that the submersible “Titan”, which has been missing since Sunday, can still be found and rescued with five people on board. The US Coast Guard confirmed Wednesday that a Canadian plane detected “underwater noise” in a search area for the missing submersible. However, it is unclear whether the noise came from the submersible.
“We have reason to be hopeful,” said Richard Garriott, president of the Explorers Club, an international association of scientists based in the United States. “Probable signs of life have been spotted at the site.” Five ships are said to have arrived in the area where the boat submerged. In the event of an emergency, the plan is for the “Titan” to uncouple its diving weights in order to surface on its own – but this has not yet happened.
On Wednesday evening (CEST), the US Coast Guard announced that additional tones and knocking noises were registered by emergency services.
Missing Titanic submersible: billionaire businessman, CEO and researcher on board
The rescuers have until Thursday noon to rescue the missing alive. Until then, the oxygen supplies should be sufficient. Among the inmates are British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, fellow British businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman. French researcher Paul-Henri Nargeolet and Oceangate founder Stockton Rush are also on board. Washington-based company Oceangate built and operates the missing submersible.
The occupants were on their way to the wreck of the Titanic. The wreck of the ship has been lying at a depth of 3500 meters on the seabed 370 miles south of Newfoundland since it hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on April 15, 1912, killing 1500 of the 2240 passengers.
The ship sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912.
(Photo: dpa)
After three years of construction, the Titanic was completed in 1911 at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. The construction costs for the luxury liner, which is considered unsinkable, amounted to 7.5 million dollars at the time.
Fascination for “Titanic” continues
“People are fascinated by the Titanic today for the same reasons they have always been,” said Don Lynch, historian at the Titanic Historical Society, in an interview with US magazine Reader’s Digest. “The world’s largest ocean liner, considered unsinkable on its maiden voyage and crashing into an iceberg with some of the most famous names of the day aboard, sank so slowly that there was time for drama and heroism.”
Shortly after the wreck was discovered by American oceanologist Robert Ballard and French explorer Jean-Louis Michel in 1985, “Titanic” tourism also began. Ballard later described the seabed site as “quiet and peaceful where the remains of this greatest of all naval tragedies rest”.
Submersibles like the “Titan” then played a central role in the following adventure trips to the site right from the start. Previously, the submersibles were mainly used for scientific purposes and for treasure hunting on the seabed.
Missing submersible: rescue team registers knocking noises
In 1996, a submersible from the Russian exploration ship Akademik Keldysh descended to the wreck of the Titanic in just under three hours. Filmmaker James Cameron was also on board at the time, and he used the recordings for his global hit “Titanic” with actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
“It’s basically like a little bus tour,” says William Kohnen in an interview with the Washington Post, describing the diving expeditions into the depths of the oceans. His company Hydrospace builds submersibles, most of which have space for 20 to 60 passengers, and are used for underwater expeditions to old shipwrecks or to explore interesting sea regions. The submersibles are mostly used in the Caribbean. They usually do not dive deeper than 45 meters.
The Titan is being prepared for a dive in a remote area of the Atlantic on an expedition to Titanic.
(Photo: Uncredited/Action Aviation/AP/dpa)
The diving trips to the “Titanic” represent a much more extreme variant of underwater tourism. The participants see themselves more as explorers than as tourists. The thirst for adventure comes at a high price: Oceangate is asking passengers around $250,000 for a total of eight days of expedition. With competitors like the British travel company Brown and Hudson, the risky fun costs up to 300,000 dollars.
There the diving trips are advertised as “luxe edition” with a scientific touch.
Hamish Harding has traveled to the South Pole and into space
For the billionaire Harding, the trip to the “Titanic” is not the first travel adventure. The Briton was already at the South Pole and was among the first private passengers to set off into space with the space company Blue Origin, operated by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Although the dive boats are checked for safety, there remains a residual risk for the adventure tourists. For example, Mike Reiss, a former Oceangate passenger, told the BBC that before the expedition he had to write in writing not to hold the operator liable for a long list of risks, including the fatality of the tour.
The submersible and its platform underwater.
(Photo: American Photo Archive/Alamy/PA Media/dpa)
“When you put people in a potentially dangerous situation like this, you want to be absolutely sure that everything has been checked before you set off,” Stefan Williams, a professor of marine robotics at the University of Sydney, told the British daily The Guardians”.
Meanwhile, it became known that Oceangate fired an employee in 2018 who is said to have previously pointed out safety deficiencies to the company. Trained submarine pilot and underwater inspector David Lochridge had filed a whistleblower complaint against Oceangate with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Conversely, the company accuses the ex-employee of passing on company secrets.
More: Ex-employee warned of security gaps in the submarine – search teams hear knocking noises
First publication: 06/21/2023, 5:17 p.m. (last updated: 06/21/2023, 7:36 p.m.).