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Maritime sites are picking up on it
Commercial Submersible Goes Missing on Dive to the RMS Titanic
Mike Schuler June 19, 2023
A commercially-operated submarine, which takes paying passengers to visit the infamous wreck of the RMS Titanic, has gone missing in the Atlantic Ocean. A search and rescue mission, which included the U.S. Coast Guard, has been launched to locate the five people on board.
The submersible is operated by Everett, Washington-based Oceangate Expeditions Inc.
Multiple search and rescue assets were headed to the area after departing St Johns, Newfoundland and Labrador.
The U.S. Coast Guard’s 1st District confirmed it had launched a search with a C-130 aircraft for the missing submersible. “Rescue Coordination Center Halifax is assisting with a P8 Poseidon aircraft in the search. The P8 has underwater detection capabilities,” it said.
The Coast Guard confirmed there are five people on board the vessel.
Oceangate, which led successful expeditions to the wreck in 2021 and 2022, had been posting about this year’s Titanic expedition on social media. The company said in a brief statement on Monday that it was “exploring and mobilizing all options” to rescue those on board the vessel.
“Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families,” the statement said. “We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible.”
“We are working toward the safe return of the crewmembers.”
Dives are performed by Oceangate’s Titan, a five-person (1 crew + 4 passengers) submersible capable of operating to water depths of 4,000 meters.
Horizon Maritime’s vessel Polar Prince was serving as the support vessel during this year’s expedition.
On Sunday, a “mission specialist” on the expedition wrote on Facebook that weather window had opened up for Monday’s dive.
“Due to the worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023. A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive [on Monday],” the post said. It added that the dive team included “legendary explorers,” including some with more than 30 dives to the Titanic since the 1980s.
BBC reports that passengers are charged $250,000 per person for an 8-day expedition to the Titanic.
The wreck of the Titanic is located at a depth of approximately 12,500 feet (3,800 meters), approximately 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. The ship sank on April 15, 1912, after colliding with an iceberg during its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City. It was rediscovered in 1985 by a team led by Robert Ballard.
Oceangate’s dives to the site are conducted in accordance with NOAA Guidelines for Research Exploration and Salvage of RMS Titanic, and comply with UNESCO guidelines for the preservation of underwater world heritage sites.
https://gcaptain.com/commercial-submersible-goes-missing-on-dive-to-the-rms-titanic-report/
[Last position report from POLAR PRINCE received on June 16th]