The five passengers on the missing submersible in a remote area of the North Atlantic are believed to be dead after the vessel imploded near the wreckage of the Titanic, Coast Guard officials said Thursday.
We’re gathering the latest news and updates. Follow along live.
With the fate of those on Titanic-bound submersible known, focus turns to cause of fatal implosion — 12:17 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The search for a missing Titanic-bound submersible has become an investigation and salvage mission that will take an indefinite amount of time, officials said, as tributes from around the world poured in for the five people killed when the vessel imploded deep in the North Atlantic.
The announcement Thursday that all aboard perished when the submersible imploded near the site of the iconic shipwreck brought a tragic end to a five-day saga that included an urgent around-the-clock search and a worldwide vigil for the vessel known as the Titan.
The investigation into what happened was already underway and would continue in the area around Titanic where debris from the submersible was found, said Rear Adm. John Mauger, of the First Coast Guard District.
Navy sensors heard implosion of Titan submersible, officials say — 10:35 p.m.
By The Washington Post
U.S. Navy acoustic sensors detected the likely implosion of the Titan submersible hours after the vessel began its fatal voyage on Sunday, U.S. Navy officials said on Thursday, a revelation that means the sprawling search for the vessel came as senior officials already had some indication the Titan was destroyed.
Debris from the submersible, operated by the private firm OceanGate, was discovered Thursday on the seabed of the Atlantic Ocean about 1,600 feet from the Titanic, the doomed ocean liner that the Titan’s passengers had set out to explore. Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger said the debris was discovered underwater by a remotely operated vehicle, four days after it set out from Newfoundland.
A senior Navy official said in a statement Thursday evening that the service conducted an analysis of acoustic data “and detected an anomaly consistent with an implosion or explosion” in the general vicinity of where the Titan was operating when it stopped communicating.
Wife of pilot in fatal sub implosion descended from couple who died on Titanic, report says — 8:20 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The wife of the man piloting the OceanGate tourist submersible when it imploded during this week’s dive to the Titanic wreckage site is a descendant of a wealthy couple who died when the ocean liner sank in 1912.
Archival records show that Wendy Rush, the wife of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, is the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus, The New York Times reported Thursday. Straus was a retailing magnate who co-owned Macy’s department store.
Born Wendy Hollings Weil, Wendy Rush wed Stockton Rush in 1986, according to their wedding announcement. The Times said it could not immediately reach Wendy Rush for additional comment.
The U.S. Coast Guard announced Thursday that Stockton Rush and the other four men aboard the submersible died when the craft imploded this week in the North Atlantic.
Isidor and Ida Straus have become known for a Titanic story about reportedly choosing to go down together on the sinking ship, arm in arm. Survivors said Isidor Straus would not get on a lifeboat while women and children were still waiting to be rescued, and his wife of four decades declared she would not abandon her husband.
Titanic salvage rights owner mourns expert killed aboard Titan — 7:00 p.m.
By the Associated Press
RMS Titanic, Inc., the company that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic shipwreck, is mourning the loss of Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who was among five people killed aboard the Titan submersible when it imploded this week.
Nargeolet — known as “PH” — was a long-term employee of the company.
“The maritime world has lost an iconic and inspirational leader in deep-sea exploration, and we have lost a dear and treasured friend,” the company said in a statement Thursday.
Friend and former colleague Matthew Tulloch said Nargeolet loved his work from the time they collaborated in the 1990s up until Nargeolet’s death.
“I never got the impression that he was looking forward to retirement,” Tulloch said with a small laugh. “You sort of think of people as they retire, then they can go on and do things that they love to do. This was exactly that for him — I can’t think of anything that I’m aware of that he would enjoy doing more than traveling around and sharing information and his experiences with people.”
White House offers condolences to families of Titan victims — 5:40 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The White House offered its condolences to the families mourning the five people killed aboard the Titan submersible.
U.S. Coast Guard officials announced their deaths Thursday following the vessel’s catastrophic implosion in the North Atlantic.
“Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives on the Titan,” the White House said in a statement. “They have been through a harrowing ordeal over the past few days, and we are keeping them in our thoughts and prayers.”
The statement also thanked the searchers, including the Coast Guard, involved in the international effort to find the submersible.
“This has been a testament to the skill and professionalism that the men and women who serve our nation continue to demonstrate every single day,” the statement said.
‘Titanic’ director James Cameron cites parallels between ocean liner, Titan tragedies — 5:02 p.m.
By the Associated Press
“Titanic” movie director James Cameron says the Titan submersible tragedy has eerie parallels to the ocean liner’s disaster more than a century ago.
Debris from the submersible’s catastrophic implosion, killing all five aboard, was discovered near the shipwreck.
In an interview with ABC News, Cameron said he was “struck” by the similarities. The Titanic’s captain ignored warnings about ice in the North Atlantic, and the movie director said deep-sea explorers voiced concerns about the Titan submersible, saying it was too experimental to carry passengers.
“To take place at the same exact site with all the diving that’s going on all around the world, I think it’s just astonishing,” Cameron told the TV station. “It’s really quite surreal.”
‘Titanic’ director James Cameron on the ‘catastrophic implosion’ of Titan submersible: “I’m struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field." pic.twitter.com/vO8JkCXS5f
— ABC News (@ABC) June 22, 2023
Cameron had previously traveled to the Titanic wreckage, including on Sept. 11, 2001, in a submersible vessel.
Watch highlights of the Coast Guard’s afternoon briefing — 4:31 p.m.
By Randy Vazquez, Globe Staff
Pakistan offers condolences to family of father and son aboard — 4:15 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Pakistan has offered the country’s condolences to the Dawood family after the father-and-son explorers were among five killed when the Titan submersible imploded deep in the North Atlantic waters during a trip to the Titanic’s wreckage.
Pakistani nationals Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman were aboard the Titan when it went missing Sunday. Authorities on Thursday said the catastrophic implosion meant there were no survivors.
The Dawoods are members of one of Pakistan’s most prominent families and their firm, Dawood Hercules Corp., based in Karachi, is involved in agriculture, petrochemicals and telecommunication infrastructure.
“Our deepest condolences to the Dawood family and the family of other passengers on the sad news about the fate of Titanic submersible in the North Atlantic,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry wrote on Twitter. “We appreciate the multinational efforts over the last several days in search of the vessel.”
About the five men who died on Titan — 4:03 p.m.
By the Associated Press
A renowned Titanic expert, a world-record holding adventurer, two members of one of Pakistan’s wealthiest families and the CEO of the company leading an expedition to the world’s most famous shipwreck were on board a small submersible that imploded in the Atlantic Ocean.
Vessels and personnel that assisted in search will begin to demobilize — 3:51 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
Over the course of the next 24 hours, officials will begin to demobilize the nine vessels, medical personnel, and other technicians that responded to the search, Rear Admiral John Mauger of the First Coast Guard District said Thursday, adding that remote operations will continue on the seafloor.
Underwater noises don’t appear to be connected to site of submersible’s wreckage — 3:40 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
The underwater noises that were detected on Tuesday and Wednesday do not appear to be connected to the area where the submersible’s debris was found, Rear Admiral John Mauger of the First Coast Guard District said Thursday.
“There doesn’t appear to be any connection between the noises and the location on the seafloor,” Mauger said.
“This was a catastrophic implosion of the vessel which would have generated significant broadband sound down there that the sonar buoys would have picked up,” Mauger added.
Efforts to recover vessel and remains of five men remain ongoing — 3:33 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Efforts to recover the submersible and the remains of the five men who died in a catastrophic implosion aboard the vessel remain ongoing.
Much of the search is being done by remotely operated underwater vehicles known as ROVs that can scan the sea floor.
“This is an incredibly unforgiving environment down there on the seafloor,” Rear Admiral John Mauger of the First Coast Guard District said Thursday.
Coast Guard will continue searching for clues about what happened — 3:29 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The Coast Guard will continue searching the sea floor near the Titanic shipwreck for more clues about what happened to the Titan submersible deep in the North Atlantic waters.
Officials say there isn’t a timeframe for when they will call off the massive international search.
Too early to tell when ‘catastrophic implosion’ occurred, Coast Guard says — 3:22 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Coast Guard officials say the Titan’s debris field was discovered near the Titanic shipwreck but it’s too early to tell exactly when the catastrophic implosion occurred.
The Titan submersible was reported missing Sunday – eight hours after it initially lost contact with its surface ship – and its 96-hour oxygen supply would have run out Thursday morning.
It’s not clear whether the implosion occurred Sunday or in the days following, during an international search effort to find the missing submersible.
The Titan’s debris field was located roughly 1,600 feet (488 meters) from the Titanic.
Company leading submersible trip releases statement — 3:14 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The company leading the Titan submersible trip to the wreckage of the Titanic says the five missing crew members are believed to be dead.
OceanGate Expeditions on Thursday says its pilot and chief executive Stockton Rush, along with passengers Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet “have sadly been lost.”
OceanGate did not provide details Thursday when the company announced the “loss of life” in a statement or how officials knew the crew members perished.
The company has been chronicling the Titanic’s decay and the underwater ecosystem around it via yearly voyages since 2021.
Five passengers believed to be dead after vessel imploded near remains of Titanic — 3:05 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
All five passengers on the missing submersible in a remote area of the North Atlantic are believed to be dead after the vessel imploded near the wreckage of the Titanic, Coast Guard officials said Thursday.
Officials said they found five different major pieces of debris that they believe are the remains of the Titan, calling it a “catastrophic event.”
A remotely operated vehicle discovered the tailbone of the Titan submersible about 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic on the seafloor, Rear Admiral John Mauger, the First Coast Guard District commander, said during a press briefing in Boston on Thursday.
“The debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber,” Mauger said “Our most heartfelt condolences go out to the loved ones of the crew.”
Watch the Coast Guard briefing live — 2:45 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
Coast Guard officials in Boston are holding a press briefing on Thursday afternoon on the search for a missing submersible in a remote area of the North Atlantic.
Earlier Thursday, officials said a remotely operated vehicle discovered a debris field in the search area.
Did initial delays in communication hamper the search? — 2:33 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Eight hours. And within them, many unanswered questions.
About an hour and a half after it dipped below the North Atlantic, a submersible on an expedition to view the wreckage of the Titanic lost communication with the surface. It would take another nearly eight hours before the Canadian research icebreaker Polar Prince, supporting the Titan submersible, reported it missing to the Coast Guard — a report that triggered the international rescue effort that was ongoing Thursday.
The time lag has yet to be explained by the company that owns the submersible, OceanGate Expeditions.
Sean Leet, head of the company that co-owns the Titan’s support ship, refused to discuss the timeline during a news conference Wednesday, saying only that “all protocols were followed for the mission.” But experts familiar with deep-sea exploration said those lost hours raise red flags.
“The time delay between declaring a submersible sunk and notification to outside resources and emergency responders appears to be excessive,” said Robert Kraft, a deep-sea explorer who has located missing ships in the ocean. The emergency procedure in question, he said, is typically declared after three consecutive scheduled communications are missed “but can vary slightly between organizations.”
Others suggested the delay could have been due to the unorthodox approach taken by the company behind the experimental vessel.
Salvatore Mercogliano, a history professor at Campbell University in North Carolina who focuses on maritime history and policy, said the people on the Polar Prince likely didn’t call for help after losing communication with the Titan because the submersible had previously experienced communication failures — so such an occurrence didn’t raise immediate alarms. The vessel used a rudimentary system that basically communicated with the surface ship through text message, Mercogliano said.
Wellfleet, Mass., company provides remote operated vehicle for search— 2:25 p.m.
By Emily Sweeney, Globe Staff
The primary ROV [remotely operated vehicle] aboard the Canadian ship Horizon Arctic is the PRS Odysseus 6K from Pelagic Research Services, an ocean services company based in Wellfeet, Mass., the company said in a statement.
”It was mobilized to the vessel by the U.S. Air Force on Tuesday to help with the search and rescue operation. It is not a U.S. military asset,” the company wrote in a Facebook post. “The ROV was deployed early Thursday morning and has been scanning the seafloor in the rescue area continuously. Edward Cassano, CEO of PRS, is the overall incident commander for Horizon Arctic subsea assets for this effort.”
PRS officials said the Odysseus 6K is one of the few remotely operated vehicles that can operate effectively at depths up to 6,000 meters, which is 3.7 miles.
Past deep-sea rescues show the challenges of saving those on board missing submersible — 2:04 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The desperate search for a submersible that disappeared while taking five people to view the Titanic wreckage has drawn attention to other deep-sea rescues.
Those rescue efforts — from a submersible off Ireland to a submarine off the New Hampshire coast — offer some measure of hope for the passengers and their families. But some of those rescues were not as complex as the effort to find the Titan submersible. They were often in shallower waters and, in several cases, were much bigger crafts. Many ended with some, if not all, the passengers on board dying — demonstrating the inherent risk of operating in the deep ocean.
Here’s a look at past rescue attempts.
A deep-sea robot discovered debris field — 1:42 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Officials say a remote-operated robot discovered the debris field near the Titanic that could be linked to the missing Titan.
The robot is one of several remotely operated vehicles, known as ROVs, scanning the sea floor for clues of the missing submersible.
The ROVs are outfitted with cameras and travel to depths many other vessels cannot and have been used for undersea exploration for decades.
The Coast Guard’s post on Twitter gave no details, such as whether officials believe the debris field is connected to the Titan.
Man on missing submersible is student at Scottish university — 1:17 p.m.
By Emily Sweeney, Globe Staff
The University of Strathclyde in Scotland confirmed Thursday that Suleman Dawood, one of the people on the missing submersible, is a student at the university’s business school and just completed his first year.
“We are deeply concerned about Suleman, his father and the others involved in this incident,” university officials said in an e-mail to the Globe. “Our thoughts are with their families and loved ones and we continue to hope for a positive outcome.”
Suleman is on the vessel with his father, Shahzada, their family said in a statement. They are members of one of Pakistan’s most prominent families.
OceanGate co-founder said he believes window for rescue is ‘longer than what most people think’ — 12:46 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
The co-founder of OceanGate, the company that owns the missing submersible, said in a statement on Thursday that he believes the time window for the rescue of the five passengers on board is “longer than what most people think” and encouraged people to remain hopeful that they’ll return safely.
”Today will be a critical day in this search and rescue mission, as the sub’s life support supplies are starting to run low,” Guillermo Söhnlein wrote in a Facebook post.
Söhnlein wrote that he thinks the five men — including OceanGate co-founder Stockton Rush, who piloted the expedition — “realized days ago that the best thing they can do to ensure their rescue is to extend the limits of those supplies by relaxing as much as possible.”
Coast Guard to hold afternoon press briefing in Boston — 11:55 a.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
The Coast Guard is holding an afternoon briefing in Boston on Thursday to discuss the findings of a remotely operated vehicle in the search area for the missing submersible.
‘Debris field’ discovered by an ROV near Titanic, Coast Guard says — 11:52 a.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
A “debris field” was discovered in the search area for the missing Titan submersible by a remotely operated vehicle, the Coast Guard said.
“Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information,” the Coast Guard said.
A debris field was discovered within the search area by an ROV near the Titanic. Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information. 1/2
— USCGNortheast (@USCGNortheast) June 22, 2023
‘Lack of oxygen is key now,’ expert says — 11:40 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Jamie Pringle, an expert in Forensic Geosciences at Keele University, in England, said even if the noises came from the submersible, “The lack of oxygen is key now; even if they find it, they still need to get to the surface and unbolt it.”
Passengers’ ‘will to live’ needs to be accounted for, Coast Guard official says — 11:32 a.m.
By the Associated Press
US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger appeared on the “Today” show Thursday and gave an update on the latest search efforts for the missing sub.
”We continue to find in particularly complex cases that people’s will to live really needs to be accounted for as well,” he said. “And so we’re continuing to search and proceed with rescue efforts.”
Rear Adm. John Mauger of the U.S. Coast Guard speaks to TODAY about the latest efforts to rescue the five people on board the missing submersible Titan as it runs low on oxygen.
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 22, 2023
“People’s will to live really needs to be accounted for, as well,” he says. pic.twitter.com/6FJ3w1Z0Ty
About the French underwater robot that joined the search — 11:09 a.m.
By the Associated Press
A French deep sea robot that can dive to depths of 19,685 feet has joined the search for the missing Titan submersible and its five passengers.
France’s state-run ocean research institute said Thursday the Victor 6000 is fitted with cameras, lights and robotic arms that could, if Titan is found, assist in raising it to the surface.
“With all of its cameras and things, we’re capable of finding things really well in an area 20 to 30 meters (yards) around,” said Olivier Lefort, the fleet director at the French ocean research institute Ifremer. He added that if the Titan is found, Victor 6000 could help attach cables to the submersible in an effort to raise it.
The robot was aboard the French ocean research ship L’Atalante, which was working in the Atlantic, 48 hours away, when the Titan vanished Sunday on its way to the Titanic wreckage, which is at about 12,467 feet deep.
As oxygen levels run low on board, passengers can make minor conservation efforts — 10:34 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The Titan was said to have enough oxygen on board to to last 96 hours, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, meaning they could run out sometime Thursday.
But there are ways the five passengers can conserve, said professor professor Hugh Montgomery, director of the Centre for Human Health and Performance at University College London, even as temperatures drop to near freezing.
The human body makes every effort to maintain a core body temperature so shivering may increase oxygen demands, he said.
“The only effective way to limit O2 demand in this circumstance is not to burn excess energy,” Montgomery said.
That means staying immobile or sleeping. Meditation can also slightly reduce oxygen demand by producing less stress hormones, less movement and more relaxed muscles, but such effects will be marginal, he said.
Scientists, while realistic about survival chances, offer hope — 9:22 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Scientists, while remaining realistic about the chances of finding the Titan on the vast ocean floor, are still offering a glimmer of hope.
Rob Larter, a marine geophysicist with the British Antarctic Survey, said in London on Thursday that it’s incredibly difficult to find an object the size of the Titan in a totally dark environment. He says it’s not going to be found with active sonar from a surface ship, but rather with a towed or autonomous vehicle that’s near the seafloor. Even those vehicles can see just a matter of meters.
“I’ve been involved in searches for hydrothermal vent sites,” he said. We “have the vehicles just a few tens of meters away and missed them and then come back and find them. So it really is, you know, literally it’s just a needle in a haystack situation unless you’ve got a pretty precise location.”
Jamie Pringle, an expert in forensic geosciences at Keele University in the United Kingdom says the first 24 hours are critical in these kinds of rescue operations and that time period has long passed.
“So there’s always a chance. It’s never zero. But I think obviously the longer the time elapses, the lower the chance of success,” he said.
Larter called it a “desperate situation” buy says you try to stay optimistic as long as possible.
“It’s kind of unimaginable if people are alive, trapped in a submersible with oxygen supplies running down,” he said.
Coast Guard gives update on weather conditions at search site — 8:45 a.m.
By Emily Sweeney, Globe Staff
The US Coast Guard reports that the weather conditions at the scene of the search are a bit calmer than yesterday, with winds at 14 miles per hour and gusts up to 19 miles per hour, and sea swells of 4 to 5 feet. The air temperature is 50 degrees.
Weather on scene: winds at 14 mph with gusts up to 19mph. Sea state is 4-5ft swells with an air temp of 50°f. #Titanic
— USCGNortheast (@USCGNortheast) June 22, 2023
French ROV deployed in search for missing submersible — 8:02 a.m.
By Emily Sweeney, Globe Staff
The French Research Vessel L’Atalante has deployed its ROV, according to a tweet by the US Coast Guard.
The French vessel L'Atalante has just deployed their ROV. #Titanic
— USCGNortheast (@USCGNortheast) June 22, 2023
On Wednesday the US Coast Guard released this image showing the search patterns that have been used in the search for the submersible since it disappeared 900 miles east of Cape Cod. As of Thursday morning, the sub remains missing and the search continues.
Canadian ROV reaches sea floor, continues searching — 7:15 a.m.
By Emily Sweeney, Globe Staff
A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) deployed by the Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic has “reached the sea floor and began its search for the missing sub,” and the French vessel L’Atalante was preparing their ROV to enter the water, US Coast Guard officials tweeted Thursday morning.
The Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic has deployed an ROV that has reached the sea floor and began its search for the missing sub. #Titanic
— USCGNortheast (@USCGNortheast) June 22, 2023
Search for the submersible is nearing the critical 96-hour mark — 6:13 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The search is nearing the critical 96-hour mark when breathable air is expected to run out, reaching a vital moment in the intense effort to save the five people aboard.
The Titan submersible was estimated to have a 96-hour supply of breathable air when it launched Sunday morning in the North Atlantic. That means the deadline to find and rescue the sub is roughly between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. on Thursday based on estimates the U.S. Coast Guard and company behind the expedition have provided.
Experts say that the oxygen supply number is an imprecise estimate and could be extended if passengers have taken measures to conserve breathable air. And it’s not known if they survived since the sub disappeared Sunday morning.
Officials have expanded the coverage area to thousands of miles — twice the size of Connecticut and in waters 2 1/2 miles deep. Airplanes, ships, remote-operated underwater vehicles and a U.S. Navy-owned specialized salvage system have been deployed, concentrating where unidentified noises had been heard for two days. The noises raised hopes of a possible discovery.
The Titanic hit an iceberg 900 miles east of Cape Cod. Could that happen today? — 5:33 a.m.
By Martin Finucane and Jeremiah Manion, Globe Staff
On April 14, 1912, disaster struck the Titanic 900 miles east of Cape Cod when the luxury passenger ship collided with an iceberg. More than 110 years later, a desperate search is underway to locate a missing submersible that was headed for the wreck site.
Many factors could hamper the search for the vessel, but the threat of icebergs isn’t one of them. The area where the Titanic went down last saw icebergs in 2019, according to the International Ice Patrol.
In fact, the future of icebergs in the North Atlantic is uncertain at a time of manmade climate change, according to the International Ice Patrol, a Coast Guard unit that receives international funding to protect shipping, and an academic expert. Some factors point to fewer icebergs, while others point to more, they said.
Rescuers make last desperate push as final hours of oxygen on missing Titanic submersible tick down — 12:15 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The race against time to find a submersible that disappeared on its way to the Titanic wreckage site entered a new phase of desperation on Thursday morning as the final hours of oxygen possibly left on board the tiny vessel ticked off the clock.
Rescuers have rushed more ships and vessels to the site of the disappearance, hoping underwater sounds they detected for a second straight day might help narrow their search in the urgent, international mission. But the crew had only a four-day oxygen supply when the vessel, called the Titan, set off around 6 a.m. Sunday.
Even those who expressed optimism warned that many obstacles remain: from pinpointing the vessel’s location, to reaching it with rescue equipment, to bringing it to the surface — assuming it’s still intact. And all that has to happen before the passengers’ oxygen supply runs out.
Tourist sub customer calls his 2021 dive to the Titanic a ‘kamikaze operation’ — 11:10 p.m.
By the Associated Press
As an international search continued for a vessel that disappeared after setting out for the underwater wreckage of the Titanic, a man who was one of the submersible company’s first customers characterized a dive he made to the site two years ago as a “kamikaze operation.”
“You have to be a little bit crazy to do this sort of thing,” said Arthur Loibl, a 61-year-old retired businessman and adventurer from Germany.
Loibl told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he first had the idea of seeing the Titanic wreckage while on a trip to the South Pole in 2016. At the time, a Russian company was offering dives for half a million dollars.
More assets to join search for missing Titan submersible, Coast Guard says — 10:25 p.m.
Tonya Alanez, Globe Staff
The US Coast Guard on Wednesday night announced more assets will be added to the frantic search and rescue for five people onboard a submersible vessel that vanished Sunday during an expedition to the wreckage of the Titanic.
The seven vessels from Canada, Britain, and France were expected to arrive at St. John’s Wednesday night, according to the US Coast Guard. Planes are also searching from the air in continuous back-to-back flights.
The Titan is estimated to have as little as a day’s worth of oxygen left if it is still functioning.
The location of the search is 900 miles east of Cape Cod and 400 miles southeast of St. John’s, New Foundland.
The story of the Titanic still grips the imagination, even 111 years later — 8:43 p.m.
Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff
The deteriorating wreck of the RMS Titanic lies in pitch-black darkness more than two miles below the surface of the remote North Atlantic, the casualty of a collision with an iceberg — and, some say, of human hubris — that sunk the largest passenger ship of its time and claimed 1,496 lives in 1912.
It’s not the worst maritime tragedy in peacetime, and the Titanic’s shattered bones lay undiscovered until 1985. But the great ship’s hold on the popular imagination has continued to remain dramatic, close, and durable.
And so it continues, 111 years later, as a sprawling search continues for a tiny submersible that disappeared Sunday with five passengers bound for the experience of a lifetime: a close encounter with the once-mighty Titanic.
Titan searchers face underwater challenges — 7:37 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Underwater mountains and valleys. Deep-sea water pressure. Weather conditions. And a search area twice the size of Connecticut – in waters 2 1/2 miles deep – with few clues about the Titan’s location.
The crews tasked with finding the Titan are facing all those challenges and more to locate the submersible amid the North Atlantic waters.
While undersea search efforts are nothing new – a 2019 expedition found two lost Japanese aircraft carriers that went down in World War II’s historic Battle of Midway around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands – looking for the 22-foot-long (6.7-meter) carbon-fiber vessel amid the vast ocean is far more than finding a needle in a haystack.
Those Japanese aircraft carriers were exponentially larger than the Titan – and still they were lost for decades after the June 1942 air and sea battle.
“I’ve seen large vessels hiding within extreme geology so searching for smaller objects requires more detailed scrutiny as opposed to searching for a sunken (cruiser) or aircraft carrier,” wrote Robert Kraft, a deep-sea explorer who was part of the 2019 expedition, in an email to The Associated Press from aboard his latest voyage.
How search teams could use sound to find the Titan sub — and why it’s a challenge — 6:50 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Search teams racing to find the missing Titanic submersible have detected underwater noises in the area. But it won’t be easy to find the source of that sound in the ocean.
“It’s not a simple problem,” said Matt Dzieciuch, an ocean acoustics expert at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
The ocean is a “noisy place,” Dzieciuch said. There are many other potential sources of sound under water, including from fish, other animals and of course human-made instruments, he explained.
Video: What we know about the search for the missing submersible — 5:47 p.m.
Undersea exploration robots may be critical in search — 5:16 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Remote-operated robots that are typically used for undersea exploration will instead be critical to any hope of finding the Titan.
There were two such remotely operated vehicles — or ROVs – in North Atlantic waters on Wednesday, with more on the way.
Designed to scan the sea floor in real time, the ROVs are outfitted with cameras and travel to depths many other vessels cannot.
ROVs have been used for undersea exploration since at least the mid-1980s, according to deep-sea explorer Katy Croff Bell, who is president of Ocean Discovery League.
The vessels are expensive to use and their method of data collection can be slow and painstaking, which is partly why scientists know so little about the ocean floor even after years of exploration.
But the ROVs might be the only way to find the Titan after the submersible vanished Sunday on a dive to the wreckage of the Titanic.
“ROVs are essential to the search and rescue mission,” Bell said. “Really the only way you’re going to be able to recover anything from the deep sea floor in real time.”
‘Hypothermia is a real danger’ to passengers inside vessel, expert says — 4:27 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Jeff Karson, a professor emeritus of earth and environmental sciences at Syracuse University, said the temperature is just above freezing, and the vessel is too deep for human divers to get to it. The best chance to reach the submersible could be to use a remotely operated robot on a fiber optic cable, he said.
“I am sure it is horrible down there,” Karson said. “It is like being in a snow cave and hypothermia is a real danger.”
Dozens traveled on OceanGate’s vessel to see Titanic wreckage in 2021 and 2022 — 4:04 p.m.
By the Associated Press
At least 46 people successfully traveled on OceanGate’s submersible to the Titanic wreck site in 2021 and 2022, according to letters the company filed with a U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Virginia, that oversees matters involving the Titanic shipwreck.
Chris Brown, a British adventurer who paid a deposit to go on the Titan voyage but later withdrew because of what he called safety concerns, said word that the searchers have heard sounds is both good news and bad news.
“If the sounds are coming from below the water indicator then that indicates that they may be alive in the water, but now we’ve got time pressures in getting them up to the surface,” Brown told ABC’s “Good Morning America” Wednesday.
Specialized underwater vessel flown for sea floor search — 3:49 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The daunting search and rescue effort for the Titan is rushing experts and specialized underwater equipment together by land, by air and by sea to find the submersible before its oxygen runs out.
A remotely operated vehicle that can scan the sea floor, known as an ROV, was flown to Canada on Tuesday and is expected to arrive at the Titanic site on Thursday morning.
“The equipment that is onsite and coming is the most sophisticated in the world and certainly capable of reaching those depths,” said Sean Leet, chief executive of Canadian Horizon Maritime company.
The company and the Mi’kmaq band co-own the Polar Prince, which is the research vessel that launched the Titan.
“We are praying for our friends onboard the Titan submersible,” said Miawpukek First Nation Chief Mi’sel Joe. “We want them to come home safely. We ask everyone across Canada and the world to pray with us that we can find and rescue the Titan.”
Four possible outcomes for the missing submersible and its passengers — 3:33 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Time is quickly running out for five people aboard a missing submersible that lost contact with its mother ship on Sunday as it descended to the wreck of the Titanic.
Here are several possible outcomes for the Titan and its passengers.
US Navy sending equipment for possible salvage — 3:07 p.m.
By the Associated Press
The US Navy is sending a specialized salvage system that’s capable of hoisting “large, bulky and heavy undersea objects such as aircraft or small vessels” in the hopes that the Titan will be found in the waters of the North Atlantic.
The Titan weighs 20,000 pounds. The US Navy’s Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System is designed to lift up to 60,000 pounds, the navy said on its website.
The Flyaway has a traction winch as well as a system that prevents “high-snap tension” from occurring in the lift line.
Passenger on 2021 dive to Titanic describes risks — 2:50 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Looking back on his own 2021 dive to the Titanic, an early OceanGate passenger says one must be “a little bit crazy.”
Arthur Loibl, a retired businessman and adventurer from Germany, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he conceived the idea to see the Titanic while on a 2016 trip to the South Pole. He paid $110,000 for a dive in 2019, but the first submersible didn’t survive testing. Loibl went two years later.
“Imagine a metal tube, a few meters long with a sheet of metal for a floor. You can’t stand, you can’t kneel. Everyone is sitting close to or on top of each other,” Loibl said. “You can’t be claustrophobic.”
The dive, which was repeatedly delayed to fix problems, took 10 1/2 hours, he said.
“I was a bit naive, looking back now,” said Loibl.
Underwater noises heard for second day, but location and source is unknown — 2:22 p.m.
By the Associated Press
Captain Jamie Frederick of the First Coast Guard District said underwater noises were heard for a second day Wednesday, but “we don’t know what they are, to be frank.”
Coast Guard officials were bringing in more ships and other vessels to search the more narrowly defined area, though the exact location and source of the sounds has not yet been determined.
Animation illustrates how far down the Titanic lies — 2:03 p.m.
By Emily Sweeney, Globe Staff
A video created by Spanish animation company MetaBallStudios shows how deep the Titanic wreck site lies on the bottom of the ocean. The animated clip illustrates the depth of the water that is being searched and compares it to other well-known landmarks.
Noises have been described as ‘banging,’ official says — 1:45 p.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
“The noises have been described as banging noises,” said J. Carl Hartsfield of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, during the briefing Wednesday afternoon. “But again, they have to put the whole picture together in context, and they have to eliminate potential manmade sources other than the Titan.”
Operation is still ‘search-and-rescue mission,’ official says — 1:18 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
The search for the missing submersible in the North Atlantic is “100 percent” still a “search-and-rescue mission,” said Captain Jamie Frederick, the First Coast Guard District response coordinator.
“When you’re in the middle of a search-and-rescue case, you always have hope,” Frederick said.
Officials ‘don’t know’ what noises are that were detected by Canadian aircraft — 1:11 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
After a Canadian aircraft detected underwater noises in the area of the search, Captain Jamie Frederick, the First Coast Guard District response coordinator, said during an afternoon press conference in Boston that they “don’t know” what the noises are, but search teams are searching in the area and will continue to do so.
“We need to have hope,” Frederick said, “but I can’t tell you what the noises are.” He added that all officials can do at this point is search where the noises are.
Coast Guard details ‘incredibly complex’ search operation — 1:05 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
Coast Guard officials on Wednesday afternoon said the search for the missing submersible is “incredibly complex,” as they detailed the additional assets and equipment that will join the operation in a remote area of the North Atlantic.
The search region is now two times the size of the state of Connecticut and 2.5 miles deep, said Captain Jamie Frederick, the First Coast Guard District response coordinator. The remote location of the missing submersible has made it “exceptionally difficult” to mobilize equipment.
Watch the Coast Guard’s upcoming Boston press conference — 12:45 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
Coast Guard officials in Boston are providing an update on the missing submersible.
Search team operating under assumption sub has about 20 hours of oxygen left, official says — 12:37 p.m.
By Emily Sweeney, Globe Staff
US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger told the BBC that based on information that OceanGate initially provided, the sub had approximately 96 hours of oxygen from when it first lost contact, so the search team is operating under the assumption that they have about 20 hours left.
That means it could run out sometime Thursday morning. But those are estimates.
”One of the factors that makes it hard to predict how much oxygen is left is that we do not know the rate of the consumption of oxygen per occupant on the sub,” he told the BBC.
Titanic submersible CEO had spoken about worry of vessel not surfacing — 12:06 p.m.
By The Washington Post
OceanGate Expeditions CEO Stockton Rush said last year that his greatest fear was being in a submersible during one of his company’s expeditions exploring the wreckage of the Titanic and facing “things that will stop me from being able to get to the surface.”
Months before he was among the five people in a submersible that’s been missing for days in the North Atlantic, Rush told “CBS Sunday Morning” in December that he didn’t think diving in a submersible was “very dangerous” at all. But when asked by CBS News correspondent David Pogue of the dangers that exist at nearly 13,000 feet underwater, Rush said he worried about the vessel not making its way back to the surface for a variety of reasons.
“What I worry about most are things that will stop me from being able to get to the surface,” he said. “Overhangs, fish nets, entanglement hazards. And, that’s just a technique, piloting technique. It’s pretty clear - if it’s an overhang, don’t go under it. If there is a net, don’t go near it. So, you can avoid those if you are just slow and steady.”
Ocean depths pose challenge for a potential rescue — 11:41 a.m.
By The New York Times
The extreme depths involved pose a challenge. Divers wearing specialized equipment can safely reach depths of just a few hundred feet below the surface before having to spend long amounts of time decompressing on the way back up. A couple hundred feet deeper, and darkness reigns.
The Titanic lies at a depth in the North Atlantic that humans can reach only while inside specialized submersibles that keep their occupants warm, dry and supplied with breathable air.
Searchers can send down a type of uncrewed device called a remote-operated vehicle, which is controlled by a human operator on the surface and has optical cameras that send a constant video feed through an umbilical line to the mother ship. Such vehicles often have gripper arms that can pick up objects on the seafloor.
Advanced vehicles like the U.S. Navy’s CURV-21 can dive to 20,000 feet underwater and can use gripper arms to delicately thread straps and lifting lines to objects so they can be winched to the surface by cranes aboard a salvage ship.
But getting that kind of equipment to the site takes time. The Titanic’s wreck is about 370 miles south of Newfoundland, and the kinds of ships that can carry a vehicle like the Navy’s deepest-diving robot normally move no faster than about 20 mph.
Vessel could run out of oxygen by Thursday morning, according to Coast Guard estimates — 11:08 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Rescuers have been racing against the clock because even under the best of circumstances the vessel could run out of oxygen by Thursday morning.
The submersible had a four-day oxygen supply when it put to sea around 6 a.m. Sunday, according to David Concannon, an adviser to OceanGate Expeditions, which oversaw the mission.
The difference between a submersible and a submarine — 10:45 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The vessel that went missing Sunday in the North Atlantic while exploring the Titanic’s wreckage is a submersible not a submarine, and there is a key difference.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration explains the difference. A submarine has enough power to leave port and come back to port under its own power.
But a submersible has more limited power and range. It needs a mother ship from which to launch, to return to, and for support and communications.
The Titan’s mother ship is the Polar Prince, a former Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker.
Coast Guard to hold afternoon press conference — 10:34 a.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
The Coast Guard will hold a press briefing at 1 p.m. on Wednesday in Boston to provide an update on the search for the missing submersible about 900 miles off of Cape Cod.
Coast Guard reports 6- to 7-foot swells in search area — 10:22 a.m.
By Emily Sweeney, Globe Staff
The US Coast Guard gave a report on the weather conditions at sea. Search crews are dealing with winds at 23 miles per hour and gusts up to 30 miles per hour, and 6- to 7-foot swells. The air temperature is 50 degrees.
Updated weather on scene: winds at 23mph with gusts up to 30mph. Sea state is 6-7ft swells with an air temp of 50°f. #Titanic
— USCGNortheast (@USCGNortheast) June 21, 2023
Submersible search is ‘incredibly complex’ case, Coast Guard official says — 10:13 a.m.
By Emily Sweeney, Globe Staff
US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger appeared on “CBS Mornings” Wednesday and said the search was an international effort and their thoughts are with the crew members and their families. He described the situation as an “incredibly complex” case.
”Over the course of the next 24 hours, we’re going to bring additional vessels, additional remote operated vehicles, and we’re going to continue to fly in the air,” he said. “So, we’ll continue to look.”
The search and rescue team looking for the missing submersible near the Titanic wreckage is launching “additional vessels,” after detecting underwater noise, says Rear Admiral John Mauger of the U.S. Coast Guard.
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) June 21, 2023
He says they are bringing “every resource to bear.” pic.twitter.com/ufTCezortz
Additional vessels arrive to help with search — 10:06 a.m.
By Emily Sweeney, Globe Staff
The US Coast Guard tweeted at 8:40 a.m. Wednesday that three vessels — Canadian CGS John Cabot, Canadian CGS Atlantic Merlin, and commercial vessel Skandi Vinland — had arrived at the scene and were searching the area for signs of the Titan.
Three vessels arrived on-scene Wednesday morning, the The John Cabot has side scanning sonar capabilities and is conducting search patterns alongside the Skandi Vinland and the Atlantic Merlin. #Titanic
— USCGNortheast (@USCGNortheast) June 21, 2023
Colleague of billionaire on board Titan says noises are ‘cause for hope’ — 9:48 a.m.
By Emily Sweeney, Globe Staff
One of the passengers on the missing submersible is Hamish Harding, a British businessman, adventurer, and a member of The Explorers Club, a society that promotes scientific exploration and field study.
Richard Garriott de Cayeux, president of The Explorers Club, said he saw Harding last week and “his excitement about this expedition was palpable.”
On Tuesday night, Garriott de Cayeux tweeted out a statement saying that there was still cause for hope.
”There is cause for hope, based on data from the field - we understand that likely signs of life have been detected at the site,” he said. “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 [remote operating vehicles] to be allowed to deploy to the site as we believe they can provide invaluable assistance.”
Message from President Richard Garriott Regarding the Ongoing Titanic Search and Rescue Mission pic.twitter.com/ec7YX5VQCY
— ExplorersClub (@ExplorersClub) June 21, 2023
Magellan Ltd. is the deep-sea mapping company that recently made a full-sized 3D scan of the Titanic.
Plane reportedly detected ‘banging sounds’ every 30 minutes — 9:33 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The Coast Guard statement came after Rolling Stone, citing what it described as internal U.S. Department of Homeland Security emails on the search, said that teams heard “banging sounds in the area every 30 minutes.”
The report was encouraging to some experts because submarine crews unable to communicate with the surface are taught to bang on their submersible’s hull to be detected by sonar.
“It sends a message that you’re probably using military techniques to find me and this is how I’m saying it,” said Frank Owen, a submarine search and rescue expert. “So, that’s really encouraging if that’s the case.”
Canadian aircraft detected underwater noises during search — 9:19 a.m.
By the Associated Press
A Canadian aircraft has detected underwater noises during the hunt for the submersible. The U.S. Coast Guard said via Twitter early Wednesday that as a result of the noises detected by the Canadian P-3 patrol aircraft, search efforts have been relocated and the data is being used to help guide the ongoing effort.
Additionally, the data from the P-3 aircraft has been shared with our U.S. Navy experts for further analysis which will be considered in future search plans. 2/2 #Titanic
— USCGNortheast (@USCGNortheast) June 21, 2023
Coast Guard releases image showing search patterns in Atlantic — 9:01 a.m.
By Emily Sweeney, Globe Staff
The US Coast Guard released this image on Tuesday showing the search patterns that have been used in the search for the Titan submersible after it went missing 900 miles east of Cape Cod. The submersible was launched from the Canadian research vessel Polar Prince at 8 a.m. Sunday and was expected to resurface at 3 p.m., but that never happened after communication was lost an hour and 45 minutes into the dive.
What might have happened to it? — 8:44 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Eric Fusil, an associate professor and director of the shipbuilding hub at the University of Adelaide, described several possible scenarios, including a power blackout, fire, flood or entanglement.
A fire, he said, could incapacitate the vessel’s systems or create toxic fumes that could render the crew unconscious. A flood would be even more dramatic, resulting in a near instantaneous implosion.
The most optimistic scenario would be a power loss that allowed the vessel to return to the surface, where it would wait for search crews to find it, Fusil said.
“The takeaway is that it’s easier to go and rescue people in space than to dive that deep and rescue people because we can’t communicate easily,” he said. “It’s still a very, very risky endeavor, even with the technology of today.”
OceanGate was warned of potential for ‘catastrophic’ problems — 8:31 a.m.
By The New York Times
Leaders in the submersible craft industry were so worried about what they called the “experimental” approach of OceanGate, the company whose craft has gone missing, that they wrote a letter in 2018 warning of possible “catastrophic” problems with the submersible’s development and its planned mission to tour the Titanic wreckage.
The letter, obtained by The New York Times, was sent to OceanGate’s CEO, Stockton Rush, by the Manned Underwater Vehicles committee of the Marine Technology Society, a 60-year-old trade group that aims to promote ocean technology and educate the public about it.
A look at the passengers on board — 8:14 a.m.
By the Associated Press
A renowned Titanic expert, a world-record holding adventurer, two members of one of Pakistan’s wealthiest families, and the CEO of the company leading an expedition to the world’s most famous shipwreck are facing critical danger aboard a small submersible that went missing in the Atlantic Ocean.
Here’s a closer look at each person.
What it’s like inside the missing vessel — 8:03 a.m.
By Emily Sweeney, Globe Staff
Imagine sitting in a tube-shaped vessel, about the size of a minivan, with four other people. You’re bolted in, with no way to get out, while the pilot uses a video game controller to steer through the ocean depths, more than two miles below the surface.
This is Titan, the submersible vessel bound for the wreckage of the Titanic that went missing on Sunday.
What kind of deep-sea vessel is it? — 7:42 a.m.
By the Associated Press
OceanGate has described the Titan as “the largest of any deep diving submersible” with an “unparalleled safety feature” that assesses the integrity of the hull throughout every dive.
Made of titanium and filament wound carbon fiber, the Titan weighs 20,000 pounds in the air, but is ballasted to be neutrally buoyant once it reaches the seafloor, the company said.
Titan is capable of diving 2.4 miles “with a comfortable safety margin,” according to documents filed by the company in April with a U.S. District Court in Virginia that oversees Titanic matters.
At the time of the filing, Titan had undergone more than 50 test dives, including to the equivalent depth of the Titanic, in deep waters off the Bahamas and in a pressure chamber, the company said.
During its 2022 expedition, OceanGate reported that the submersible had a battery issue on its first dive and had to be manually attached to its lifting platform.
Greg Stone, a longtime ocean scientist based in California who has been on similar submersibles, said the vessels operate much like hot air balloons, with weights that pull it down. He said those onboard would have been briefed on how to bring the submersible back to the surface.
“It’s all about buoyancy,” he said. “It’s usually a few switches where you can throw them, and they’ll just release the weights on the outside of the submarine and it’ll come back up.”
When and where did the Titan go missing? — 7:30 a.m.
By the Associated Press
The craft submerged Sunday morning, and its support vessel lost contact with it about an hour and 45 minutes later, according to the Coast Guard.
The vessel was reported overdue about 435 miles south of St. John’s, Newfoundland, according to Canada’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The Titan was launched from an icebreaker that was hired by OceanGate and formerly operated by the Canadian Coast Guard. The ship has ferried dozens of people and the submersible craft to the North Atlantic wreck site, where the Titan has made multiple dives.
Amanda Kaufman can be reached at amanda.kaufman@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandakauf1. Emily Sweeney can be reached at emily.sweeney@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @emilysweeney and on Instagram @emilysweeney22.