A search is being conducted after a submersible that carries people to view the wreckage of the Titanic was reported overdue. Video / AP
It was the opportunity of a lifetime. A chance to plumb the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, and view the haunting wreck of the Titanic.
But David Pogue, a journalist for US broadcaster CBS, had some misgivings about his prize assignment as he climbed aboard last year.
If the mission was grand, “Titan” the submersible ferrying passengers almost 4km below the ocean, was anything but.
No roomier than a minivan, it was, incredibly, piloted by a video game controller; its lighting purchased from a camping shop, construction pipes making do as ballast.
“I couldn’t help noticing how many pieces of this sub seemed improvised, with off-the-shelf components,” Pogue reported. A far cry from the famed majesty of the ship it was off to see.
In the end, Pogue’s journey with the tour group OceanGate down into the dark abyss was a rousing success – although it did entail getting lost for a few hours.
Alongside Harding, the crew included “a couple of legendary explorers”, he said.
Paul Henri Nargeole, the French diver known as “Mr Titanic”, is feared to be aboard, according to the French newspaper Le Figaro.
Le Figaro said that while it had “no confirmation” Nargeole was in the submersible, the 73-year-old had confided some concerns about the expedition to his relatives before his departure.
Nargeole reportedly said he “did not trust this new composite material submarine with a 60cm porthole, but I’ll go anyway for the beauty of the expedition”.
OceanGate founder Stockton Rush is also feared to be on board, according to several reports.
Harding wrote on social media at the weekend that “a weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow”. He promised more updates if the weather held.
The group planned to start their descent on Sunday. Harding’s company, Action Aviation, later confirmed the launch had been successful.
The descent, exploration of the Titanic and return to the ocean surface can take up to 12 hours.
But by Monday, concerns were rising and the Titan submersible was reported missing.
By that point, the vessel was overdue “by a couple of hours”, Chief Mi’sel Joe, the head of the Mi’kmaq people in Newfoundland, told Canadian broadcaster CBC.
The First Nation chief owns the ship from which OceanGate’s submersible had launched into the ocean. Unlike submarines that leave and return to port under their own power, submersibles require a ship to launch and recover them.
The US Coast Guard is leading the search, with assistance from the Canadian Coast Guard and a number of others. Another submersible was being flown in from the US to join the search.
A rescue operation is under way deep in the Atlantic Ocean in search of the submersible vessel carrying five people to document the wreckage of the Titanic. Photo / AP
The latest expedition to the Atlantic was announced on social media by OceanGate four days prior, on June 15.
The company shared photographs on Twitter of two groups of around two-dozen people, young and old, smiling in matching navy jackets.
“It’s been an incredibly busy two weeks! Thank you to all of our dive teams who’ve joined us – here’s a look at our Mission 3 and Mission 4 crew,” the accompanying post said.
As the fate of the crew remained uncertain, OceanGate said it was receiving “extensive assistance” from several government agencies and deep sea companies in its efforts to re-establish contact with the passengers.
“Our entire focus is on the crew members in the submersible and their families,” it said.
Rear Admiral John Mauger of the US Coast Guard told Fox News the agency did not have the right equipment in the search area to do a “comprehensive sonar survey of the bottom”.
He said: “Right now, we’re really just focused on trying to locate the vessel again by saturating the air with aerial assets, by tasking surface assets in the area, and then using the underwater sonar.”
$400k per passenger
The US military has dispatched a C-130 iceberg patrol aircraft to search the sea surface, Rear Admiral Mauger said. Canadian search and rescue has dispatched a C-130 and an Orion P-8 that can drop sonar buoys to detect underwater noises.
Rear Admiral Mauger added that rescue services were notified on Sunday. The vessel was designed to surface automatically if it ran into problems and, as of Tuesday morning, should have 72 hours of oxygen left.
OceanGate’s expeditions set off from Newfoundland, Canada – the most eastern tip of North America – and take around two days to reach the dive site in the North Atlantic.
The company has previously said it was able to make its Titanic “dive operations a success” with internet connection provided by Elon Musk’s company Starlink.
It offers its 10-day “Titanic expedition” package for around US$250,000 (about $400,000) per passenger.
“There are no switches and things to bump into, we have one button to turn it on.
“Everything else is done with touchscreens and computers, and so you really become part of the vehicle and everybody gets to know everyone pretty well.”
Rush rejected Pogue’s suggestion that some elements of the vessel were improvised during their interview last year. “I don’t know if I’d use that description of it,” he told CBS. “There are certain things that you want to be buttoned down. The pressure vessel is ... where we worked with Boeing and Nasa and the University of Washington. Everything else can fail, your thrusters can go, your lights can go. You’re still going to be safe.”
Who does Rush cater to? Titanic enthusiasts – or “Titaniacs”, as he calls them – are willing to pay the huge price tag for the chance to set eyes on the wreckage.
Prospective passengers must also make peace with the risks that come with the thrill seeking.
Pogue noted that OceanGate’s paperwork stated that the “experimental vessel” has not been approved “by any regulatory body, and could result in physical injury, emotional trauma, or death”.
