The submarine Titan sank in the waters of the North Atlantic to conquer the wreck of the titanic Sunday with five occupants on board. Since then, intensive research has been taking place in the hope of saving passengers from this extreme and costly expedition, which raises many questions. State of play.
Where are the searches?
On Wednesday, sounds were picked up underwater by a Canadian military aircraft during ongoing search operations to find the submarine Titanbelonging to the company OceanGate Expeditons, which has been offering dives to the wreck of the titanic for the sum of 250,000 US dollars per person. The research is thus concentrated in the area where the infamous ship sank in the waters of the North Atlantic in 1912, nearly 650 km off the coast of Newfoundland and at a depth of 3800 meters.
However, time is running out to find the submarine, which would be able to provide oxygen to its occupants for a maximum of 96 hours. On Wednesday morning Eastern Time, US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger told the BBC that there would be around 20 hours of oxygen supply left in the 6-foot-long submersible. .50 meters.
In this context, ongoing research involves the US Navy, the Canadian and US Coast Guard, as well as Canadian and US military aircraft and specialized agencies. France has meanwhile sent a research vessel, which is equipped with an underwater robot, to contribute to the ongoing efforts to try to save the occupants of this submarine, which can only be opened from the ‘outside.
Who are the passengers on board?
They are five very wealthy men from four different countries. Among them is Hamish Harding, a fearless British businessman. President and CEO of the private jet sales company Action Aviation, the 58-year-old man has broken several Guinness records in recent years. In July 2019, he was part of a team that circled the Earth in the fastest plane while passing through both poles. Less than two years later, in March 2021, he accompanies American explorer Victor Vescovo deep into the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean to date, aboard a two-seater submersible. . This mission, lasting more than four hours, was the longest recorded at such a depth, at around 11,000 meters at the bottom of the ocean.
According to various media, including BFMTV, Frenchman Paul-Henri Nargeolet was also among the passengers who boarded the Titan, Sunday, before it lost contact with the surface less than two hours after starting its dive. The 77-year-old man, a passionate titanicis director of the underwater research program for the American company RMS Titanic Inc, which owns the carcass of the liner.
Stockton Rush, the president and CEO of the company OceanGate Expeditions, which organized this scuba dive, is also one of the five occupants of the submersible sought. The company had successfully carried out expeditions in 2021 and 2022 to the titanicprized by certain millionaires in search of thrills.
Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood complete the list of passengers, according to various media, including the American channel CNN and the daily New York Times.
Was the Titan submarine safe?
Several red flags have been raised in recent years by experts and employees of the company OceanGate Expeditions regarding the ability of this submersible to dive safely to 4000 meters deep.
OceanGate Expeditions employee David Lochridge, a submarine pilot, raised concerns in 2018 about the submarine’s ability to safely dive to the wreckage of the titanic. A porthole had in particular been certified to be able to go to a maximum depth of 1300 m, while the titanic is at a depth of 4000 m. This employee was then laid off, leading to legal action between him and his former employer.
That same year, around 30 people, including marine industry leaders, deep-sea explorers and oceanographers, also sounded the alarm in a letter to the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, Stockton Rush. The letter, quoted by the New York Timeswarned that the “experimental” approach adopted by the company could lead to “catastrophic” results which would have “serious consequences for all in the industry” marine, whose reputation would then be shaken.