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- What could have gone wrong on Titan?
- US coast Guard confirms banging sounds heard in search area
- Search continues for Titan as breathable air runs low
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What could have gone wrong on Titan?
Experts examining the expedition to the Titanic shipwreck say any number of things could have gone wrong, with deep-sea exploration fraught with complications. But let’s have a look at four possible things that could have gone awry.
A power blackout
- Given the vessel is battery-powered, any loss of power would have cut off communication with the surface. Submersibles tend to have a “drop weight” or mass that they can release in an emergency, to bring them to the surface. If so, the Titan would be bobbing on the surface and may have drifted significantly.
Fire
- A short circuit on board could have led to sparks and a fire. The crew would face the immediate danger of toxic fumes that would quickly burn up air supplies and create a poisonous atmosphere.
Flood
- Submersibles face increasing pressure as they dive deeper. At 12,500 feet down – the depth of the Titanic – the craft will need to resist more than 6,000 pounds of force per square inch. Even a small dent in the shape could have catastrophic consequences.
Entangling
- Strong currents can occur undersea, and submersibles stay away from anything that could entangle and block them. If coming too close to the wreck, the Titan could get trapped and struggle to free herself. Few rescue vessels can dive deeper than the continental shelf – around 650 feet (198 metres). The Titanic wreck lies at a depth of 12,500 feet.
– the Telegraph
The passengers on board the Titan
British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding was the first passenger confirmed on the vessel when news first broke of its disappearance in deep water off the coast of south-eastern Canada.
The Dubai-based aircraft broker holds 16 air speed records, including the Guinness World Record for the fastest circumnavigation of the Earth via the North and South poles by an aircraft, and last year took part in the fifth human space flight by Blue Origin.
Billionaire Hamish Harding is on board the missing Titan submersible.
On board, he is joined by British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman and French maritime expert Paul Henri Nargeolet.
OceanGate chief executive Stockton Rush, whose Seattle-based company runs the Titanic expeditions at a cost of $US250,000 ($368,000) a ticket, is also on board.
The 10-day Titanic expedition operated by OceanGate and is the only one of its kind, described on the company’s website as a “thrilling and unique travel experience”.
US coast Guard confirms banging sounds heard in search area
To bring you up to speed, here are the latest development in the search for the Titan:
The US Coast Guard has confirmed a Canadian aircraft detected underwater noises in the area where the Titan went missing while on an expedition to see the wreck of the Titanic.
The updated followed reports by CNN and Rolling Stone late Tuesday that banging sounds were detected 30-minute intervals, picked up by sonar buoys deployed in the area “close to the distress position”. Additional sonar picked up more banging four hours later.
A club connected to one of the passengers on the vessel released a statement saying it understood “signs of life” had been detected, urging that there was “cause for hope.”
- Court documents have revealed the Seattle-based operator of the Titan, OceanGate, was previously the target of safety complaints from an employee who alleged he was fired because he raised concerns over how deep the vessel could descend.
Read more from North America correspondent Farrah Tomazin here.
Search continues for Titan as breathable air runs low
Hello and welcome. I’m Lucy Cormack and I will be bringing you all the latest updates of the continuing search for the missing Titan submersible.
The vessel with five people on board disappeared off radars on Sunday during its descent to the Titanic shipwreck.
Almost two days after the Titan disappeared off the coast of Canada, a mass search-and-rescue operation has failed to locate the vessel; however, the US Coast Guard has confirmed a Canadian aircraft detected underwater noises in the area where it went missing.
Time is quickly running out, with authorities warning passengers now have less than 40 hours of breathable air left in the cramped vessel.
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