The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a missing submersible used to take tourists and experts to the Titanic wreckage.
The 21-foot submersible and its five-person crew started a dive on Sunday, according to the Coast Guard. Canadian research vessel Polar Prince then lost contact with the submersible after an hour and 45 minutes.
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OceanGate Expeditions, the company that runs the expeditions, confirmed it is working with government agencies as part of the rescue.
“Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families,” the company 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.”
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Along with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Canadian Coast Guard is assisting in the search by providing a P8 Poseidon aircraft with underwater detection capabilities. A C-130 Hercules aircraft from the Coast Guard station in Elizabeth City, N.C., is also being used in the search. The Coast Guard has also deployed sonar buoys to listen for underwater sounds.
“We really brought all assets that we have available to us to bear on finding the submersible and the people in it,” Rear Admiral John Mauger, the commander of the Coast Guard district leading the search, said, via NBC News. “We understand from the operator of the submersible that there is a 96-hour reserve capacity on there, and so that gives us some time to affect a search. But when something happens on the high seas, it gets complicated quickly.”
Submersibles are attached to a mother ship – in this case, the Polar Prince – and have shorter power cycles than submarines, which can travel long distances independently.
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NBC News confirmed that one of the missing crew members is Hamish Harding, the owner and chairman of Action Aviation. He said in an Instagram post on Sunday that he was joining the expedition “as a mission specialist.”
It is unclear whether any tourism passengers were on board. The New York Times reported last year that individuals could pay up to $125,000 to join one of OceanGate’s Titanic expeditions.
OceanGate Expeditions said earlier this month that it is using Starlink, a satellite company, to provide the necessary communications for its 2023 Titanic Expedition.
The wreck of the Titanic is around 900 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and at a depth of around 12,500 feet.
