A five-person submersible vessel taking tourists on a trip to see the undersea wreckage of the 1912 Titanic disaster is missing in the Atlantic off Canada.
US media agencies have reported that ‘banging sounds’ have been heard in the search for the missing sub. They are citing internal US government memos.
The submersible disappeared on Sunday, as it made a 3,800m descent to the Titanic wreck off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, and authorities estimate the vessel has less than 30 hours of oxygen left.
It costs $250,000 per guest for an eight-day trip on the vessel.
Who is on board?
Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman
Shahzada is vice chairman of one of Pakistan’s largest conglomerates, Engro Corporation, with investments in fertilisers, vehicle manufacturing, energy and digital technologies.
According to the website of SETI, a California-based research institute that searches for extraterrestrial intelligence, of which he is a trustee, Shahzada lives in the United Kingdom with his wife and two children.
The Dawoods belong to one of Pakistan’s most prominent families.
“We are very grateful for the concern being shown by our colleagues and friends and would like to request everyone to pray for their safety while granting the family privacy at this time,” a statement released by his family said.
“The family is well looked-after and are praying to Allah for the safe return of their family members,” it added.
Shazada graduated from the University of Buckingham and received a degree from Philadelphia University.
Hamish Harding
The British billionaire and chairman of aviation company Action Aviation is also among those missing.
Dubai-based Harding had posted on social media that he was proud to be heading to the Titanic as a “mission specialist”, adding: “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.”
“The team on the sub has a couple of legendary explorers, some of [whom] have done over 30 dives to the RMS Titanic since the 1980s including PH Nargeolet,” he added.
Harding was also on board the 2019 One More Orbit flight mission that set a record for the fastest circumnavigation of Earth by aircraft over both geographic poles.
RMS TITANIC EXPEDITION
I am proud to finally announce that I joined @OceanGateExped for their RMS TITANIC Mission as a mission specialist on the sub going down to the Titanic.@ExplorersClub @actionaviation @One_More_Orbit #PolarPrince
Full story at:https://t.co/7UWUrKGyTQ
— Hamish Harding (@ActionAviation0) June 17, 2023
Paul-Henri Gargeolet
The 77-year-old French explorer is director of underwater research at a company that owns the rights to the Titanic wreck. A former commander in the French Navy, he was both a deep diver and a mine sweeper.
After retiring from the navy, he led the first recovery expedition to the Titanic in 1987 and is a leading authority on the wreck site.
In a 2020 interview with France Bleu radio, he spoke of the dangers of deep diving, saying: “I am not afraid to die, I think it will happen one day.”
Stockton Rush
The founder and CEO of the vessel’s US-based operating company OceanGate was also on board the submersible.
“It is an amazingly beautiful wreck,” Rush told Britain’s Sky News of the Titanic earlier this year.
“Rush became the youngest jet transport rated pilot in the world when he obtained his DC-8 Type/Captain’s rating at the United Airlines Jet Training Institute in 1981 at the age of 19,” according to his biography on OceanGate’s website.
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What firm is behind this?
Based in Everett in Washington State in the United States, OceanGate says it uses next-generation crewed submersibles and launches platforms to increase deep-sea access as far down as 4km (2.5 miles).
“OceanGate has successfully completed over 14 expeditions and over 200 dives in the Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico,” its website says. “Following every mission, the team evaluates and updates the procedures as part [of] a continued commitment to evolve and ensure operational safety.”
We’ve been working hard to get ready for our 2023 Titanic Expedition that begins next month. We moved @OceanGate ‘s sub, Titan, to The Launch at the @marineinstitute for final preparations.
What is the vessel?
Although popularly called a submarine, in marine terminology the Titan vessel carrying the five is a submersible. While a submarine can launch independently from a port and can come back on its own power, a submersible needs a mother ship to launch it.
With Al Jazeera
