Titanic sub search: more rescue equipment arrives amid fears for oxygen levels in Titan – live updates

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I’ve just been listening in to a very useful briefing from the Science Media Centre, in which the speakers were Prof Alistair Greig, professor of marine engineering at University College London, Dr Jamie Pringle, reader in Forensic Geosciences at Keele University and, Dr Rob Larter, a marine geophysicist with the British Antarctic Survey.

Asked about the huge size of the search area, Larter said: “We’ve all seen the reports of these sounds that have been detected, but the fact that the search areas still seems to be so large would seem to indicate that nobody thinks they have confidently been able to locate where those sounds are coming from.”

Given the lack of information from the seabed, said Greig, “I’d say we’re still pretty much where we were on Monday really, in terms of the search I guess”.

Asked about how long it could take to bring the sub to the surface were it found, Greig said: “I don’t know how long it would take but in a normal operating scenario, I think it takes about two hours to get down to depth … and about two hours again [to come up].”

Asked about his assessment of the chances of a successful rescue mission, Greig said: “I think the key thing is that they can find it … but it’s not going to be instantaneous; every step takes time – this is the problem. And we’re running out of time.”

Pringle said: “There’s always hope with these things but you know about the ‘golden first 24 hours’ – and we’re well past that stage. There’s always a chance – it’s never zero – but I think obviously in the long run, the longer the time that elapses, the lower the chances of success. That’s with anything from earthquake survival to searches. When it goes from a rescue to a recovery, I guess the coastguards will make that choice. But that will happen at some point.”

Larter said: “It’s just a desperate situation. It’s kind of unimaginable if people are alive, trapped in a submersible with oxygen supplies running down. It doesn’t bear thinking about. An objective assessment of where things are at the moment? It doesn’t look good. But I think as Jamie said, you have to try to stay optimistic for as long as possible.”

Asked how long it could take to find Titan, Larter said: “How long is a piece of string? to find an object of this size in 3,800m water depth, it potentially could take weeks of intense survey. It very much depends on how tightly the area that has to be searched is defined.”

Asked whether the disappearance of Titan could spell the end of deep sea tourism, Larter said: “I think when people look at it afterwards, this will no doubt trigger an investigation and I think this may prove to be a key moment in thinking about how such activities are regulated in the future. It’s clear from the reports I’ve read that there is a lack of regulation governing what people can put in the water.”

Greig added: “I think there are two issues here: there’s the regulation issue we’ve just heard about but there’s also the potential customer base – it may put people off wanting to pay to go on these trips.”

Dr David Gallo, a deep sea explorer, has stressed that it will take hours to rescue the submersible once it has been found – if indeed it turns out that the repetitive banging noises detected are coming from the lost sub.

Speaking to Good Morning Britain on Thursday, he said:

In this case, the noises are repetitive, every half hour I believe.Three different aircraft heard them in their sensors at the same time and it went on for two days-plus.

It’s still going on apparently. There’s not a lot in the natural world we can think of that would do that every 30-minute cycle.

We have to, at this point, assume that that’s the submarine and move quickly to that spot, locate it and get robots down there to verify that is where the submarine is.

They’ve got to go fully ready as if that was the sub because it takes a while to locate it and get it up to the surface, it takes hours.

(Via PA)

Eric Fusil, a submarine expert at the University of Adelaide, has shared some thoughts on what is required to ensure the seaworthiness of submersibles. He writes, in a piece for the Conversation:

For the Titan, fitness for purpose could be summarised by the ability to safely launch from a mothership on the water’s surface, operate autonomously down to 4,000m (the approximate depth of the Titanic shipwreck), and resurface for recovery by the mothership after a dive of a few hours …

The Titan is made of a composite carbon fibre-titanium hull. It is extremely complicated to design and structurally assess these materials, compared to metallic material only.

For deep-sea submersibles, minor malfunctions at the surface can pose serious risks at depth. For that reason, many of these vessels have redundancy built into their design, with back-ups in case one or multiple systems fail.

According to Fusil, in practical terms that means having:

a reserve of oxygen (such as while waiting for a rescue party) reliable main power sources and back-up systems another power source (such as hydraulic) in case of power loss – this would help, for example, to release safety leads to get positive buoyancy and rise back to the surface.

Ron Allum, a deep-sea engineer and explorer who designed the Deepsea Challenger vessel James Cameron used to reach Earth’s deepest-known point in 2012, told the Guardian:

The Deepsea Challenger was all about redundancy. We had almost three independent systems … backed up on different power supplies. We conducted fire tests. We literally made the batteries burn.

The vessel itself also underwent methodical testing prior to the expedition:

We tested and tested our descent weight. We did it at pressure. We did it hundreds of times, mounted to a forklift. It became almost monotonous.

If you’re just joining us here is where rescue efforts stand:

Vessels and specialist equipment has been sent from the US, UK, Canada and France to join the search for the Titan in a race against time.

The Polar Prince – the research vessel the Titan was launched from – will remain the command centre for the search, sitting near the Titanic wreck site

Officials are still holding out hope of a rescue even as the vessel nears the theoretical limit of its oxygen supply

The actual oxygen supply in the vessel depends largely on a range of factors, according to experts, such as the breathing rate of those on board, their level of physical activity and whether they remain calm

For more details, we have put together a summary of what we know so far as the search enters its critical phase.

Rescue teams searching for the missing Titan submersible saw reason for optimism on Wednesday after they reported hearing underwater noises in the Atlantic.

While stressing that the sounds were “inconclusive” and not confirmation the crew was still alive, the news did raise the question of what happens if the sub is located – and what equipment will be necessary to retrieve it.

As the search enters its critical phase, Jonathan Yerushalmy has taken a look at the vessels and remote operated deep-sea vessels that are being deployed.

A popular Mexican travel Youtuber, Alan Estrada has recalled his trip down to visit the wreck of the Titanic aboard the Titan submersible.

Estrada told the BBC that everyone who joined on the trip “were fully aware of the risks we were taking”.

But I never felt unsafe. I was fully aware of the risks and I knew that if something happened, if there was a failure in those depths and the submersible imploded, we probably wouldn’t even notice.

Estrada said he first learned about the tour offers during the pandemic when he was looking for ways to push his channel “to the limits”.

As the search for the Titan Submersible enters its fourth day, the President of the Explorers Club, Richard Garriott de Cayeux, is still holding out hope for a good outcome.

In a statement on social media, Garriott de Cayeux thanked the the public for “all your support and hard work” on the effort to find and save the Titan submersible.

He said he believed the efforts so far have “have importantly improved the odds of a positive outcome” to the situation, although he remained critical of authorities for not acting fast enough.

He said the arrival of the Magellan and the use of side-scan sonar will help improve the odds of finding the submersible.

We continue to come together for our friends, their families and the ideals of The Explorers Club, and the cause of safe scientific exploration of extreme environments.

There is good cause for hope, and we are making it more hopeful.

I thank you! Keep searching!

Dr Glenn Singleman, an extreme medicine expert who has visited the Titanic shipwreck, told the Guardian both lack of oxygen and carbon dioxide buildup are worrying concerns for the people onboard the missing Titan submersible.

The oxygen being supplied inside the vessel was likely being delivered at the regular atmospheric concentration of 21% oxygen, Singleman said:

Every submariner fears fire inside the cabin because if there is fire then carbon monoxide and other toxins are a huge problem very rapidly. That’s one of the reasons why it’s not common to use higher concentrations of oxygen than in normal air, because by having higher concentrations inside your submersible, you make it more likely that there will be a fire.

Aside from a fire, carbon monoxide should otherwise not be a problem.

A drop in oxygen levels in the air can result in hypoxia, in which bodily tissues become deprived of adequate supply. Oxygen concentrations of 10% and lower can result in loss of consciousness and death.

Singleman said the 96-hour oxygen supply figure would be an approximation based on an average person’s oxygen consumption at an average metabolic rate.

You’ve got no idea how people respond to the stress of a difficult situation – some people can increase their metabolic rate with stress, some people can relax and try to sleep and decrease it.

To prevent carbon dioxide buildup, submersibles are equipped with “scrubbers”, usually made of soda lime, which remove CO2 from the air. Singleman said:

The problem is that you get to a saturation point after a while, and you’ve got to change out the soda lime.

CO2 content in air is about 400 parts per million. As it goes up, over 1000[ppm], most people start to get symptomatic, and over 5000, you’re very symptomatic – you get hyperventilation, you get a headache, you just feel awful.

The expedition that the Titan submersible and its crew were undergoing was tremendously risky, according to industry experts and former passengers. The Titan had to withstand the pressure from being almost 4,000 metres (13,100ft) below sea level – the depth at which the Titanic came to rest – and faced the threat of getting lost or losing contact with the surface.

While it is too early to say what happened to the vessel, experts have raised questions over whether all appropriate safety measures were followed.

Stockton Rush, the chief executive and founder of OceanGate, creator of Titan, is among those missing. Rush has decades of engineering experience and has been at the helm of expeditions to the Titanic since 2021 – this was his fifth. OceanGate said there were a number of innovative safety features onboard the Titan.

The potential risks were made clear to passengers. Mike Reiss, who travelled on the Titan last year, told the BBC:

You sign a waiver before you get on that mentions death three different times. They’re learning as they go along … things go wrong. I’ve taken three different dives with this company and you almost always [lose] communication.

The Guardian understands that all standard checks and procedures were followed before the submersible set off on its voyage, but concerns over whether the vessel met industry safety standards have come to light.

If you’re just catching up on the situation regarding the lost Titan submersible, read Jonathan Yerulshalmy and Ashifa Kassam’s report on the concerns raised over the safety of the vessel:

OceanGate CEO and Founder Stockton Rush told a US television network he was aware of the risks involved with diving thousands of metres beneath the oceans surface during an interview in December 2022.

Rush was speaking to CBS Sunday Morning when he said his “biggest fear” was “things that will stop me from being able to get to the surface”.

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.

The CEO also said “there’s a limit” to how safe it could make the operation despite introducing some procedures.

I mean, if you just want to be safe, don’t get out of bed. Don’t get in your car. Don’t do anything. At some point, you’re going to take some risk, and it really is a risk-reward question. I think I can do this just as safely by breaking the rules.

Recovering the missing Titan submersible and bringing its crew to safety in time using the latest advanced deep-sea rescue equipment would be an extremely difficult task, an expert has said.

Even if Titan is located, a successful rescue would require remote-controlled vehicles (ROVs) capable of allowing operators on the surface a clear view of the submersible’s location, any obstacles that may be present and where to attach cables capable of lifting it thousands of metres through the water.

If the Titan and its five-person crew did arrive at the Titanic wreck, they will be located 3,800 metres (12,500ft) below the surface on the seabed – too deep for most ROVs to reach. Only a “tiny percentage of the world’s submarines operate that deeply”, David Marquet, a former US Navy submarine commander, told CBC.

If you’re just joining us and looking to catch up on the technical challenges that face rescuers attempting to reach the sub, read the full report here:

Though authorities and those involved in the hunt for the Titan submersible, the challenges should not be underestimated.

The area of ocean where the vessel is lost is remote and rugged – and the wreck of the Titanic lies roughly 3700m below sea level.

If that is hard to conceptualise, this illustrated video captures the scale of the challenge.

There have been concerns bad weather may hamper the search from the Titan submersible but it looks as if conditions are right for a positive result.

Wendy Rush, who is married to Stockton Rush, Ceo of OceanGate and pilot aboard the Titan submersible, is also a descendent of a couple who lost their lives aboard the famed ship.

The New York Times reports that Rush is the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus, two first-class passengers who were aboard the Titanic when it went down in 1912.

The couple were among the Titanic’s wealthiest passengers. Isidor and his brother co-owned a Macy’s department store.

Survivors reported watching Isidor refuse a seat on a life raft to allow women and children to get on board. Ida chose to remain with him. The scene was recreated in the film dramatisation of the disaster.

Wendy nee Hollings Weil married Stockton Rush in 1986.

She is also the communications director at OceanGate and has personally visited the Titanic wreck three times.

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the search for the submersible vessel Titan that went missing during a voyage to the wreck of the Titanic with five people onboard.

The search for the OceanGate Expeditions tourist submersible is entering its fourth day after the vessel was reported overdue on Sunday evening about 435 miles south of St John’s, Newfoundland.

Officials have still said they are hopeful of a rescue despite growing concerns the oxygen supply on board is becoming dangerously low. Equipment from the US, Canada, the UK and France has been brought in to help find the vessel.

Experts have said the search remains a technically challenging task because of the potential for bad weather and the difficulty in locating a small vessel in a vast ocean. So far the search has concentrated around an area where sounds were detected repeating at 30-minute intervals but authorities have said they have been unable to confirm the origin of these sounds.

As of Wednesday night local time remotely operated deep-sea vehicles (ROV), capable of operating down to depths of 6km, were heading to the area to join the search and the US Navy is also sending a heavy-lifting system called Fadoss.

It is understood the vessel had enough oxygen on board for 96 hours, though the true extent of its supply depends on several various including whether the vessel remains powered, the activity of those on board and whether they have remained calm and are able to control their breathing.

Those onboard Titan are believed to be British billionaire Hamish Harding, 58; Pakistani-born businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, with his 19-year-old son Suleman, who are both British citizens; French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77; and Stockton Rush, founder and CEO of OceanGate Expeditions.

We’ll bring you updates on the search as they happen.