Stricken Titan submarine will run out of oxygen at 12:08pm UK time: Coastguard makes prediction
The world awaits news as the survivability for the five passengers aboard the Titan submarine quickly closes, with the oxygen supply running out at 7:08 a.m. ET (12:08 a.m. UK time) today, the US Coast Guard has projected.
The announcement painted a bleak picture for those trapped in the stranded ship, but officials insisted the hunt is still “100 percent” a search and rescue mission.
The Titan, a tourist submarine operating $250,000 tours of the doomed Titanic ship and operated by OceanGate Expeditions, has been underwater since 8 a.m. Sunday with five people on board.
The group, called the Titan Five, includes British billionaire Hamish Harding, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, French Navy veteran PH Nargeolet and Pakistani bbusinessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman.
After the submarine began its descent from 12,500 feet, it lost contact with its expedition ship, the Polar Prince, at 9:45 a.m., but was not reported missing to the Coast Guard until 5:40 p.m.
The ten-hour countdown has now begun and vital oxygen supplies are expected to run out at 7:08 a.m. US Eastern Time (11:08 a.m. GMT, 12:08 a.m. UK, 9:08 p.m. Sydney), a US Coast Guard spokeswoman said.
Hopes of finding Titan are now fading, hours after those leading the rescue said they would “keep hope until the end”, but admitted that at some point they would have to “make a difficult decision”.
The Titan, a tourist submarine operating $250,000 tours of the doomed Titanic ship and operated by OceanGate Expeditions, has been underwater since 8 a.m. Sunday with five people on board
Five people are on board, including British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding
Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman are also on board, along with British billionaire Hamish Harding
French Navy veteran PH Nargeolet (left) is believed to be taking part in the expedition, along with Stockton Rush (right), CEO of the OceanGate Expedition
Rescuers, including the USCG, British Navy, and French and Canadian teams, are picking up pace as the rescue time is shrinking.
They face a race against time, and with less than twelve hours of oxygen on the ship, experts have said those inside will try to minimize their breathing to conserve remaining supplies.
Rescuers refuse to give up hope, US Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick stressed Wednesday, even as people around the world count down the hours until the ship’s oxygen is expected to run out.
“We have to remain optimistic and hopeful when we are in a search and rescue case.
The 21ft submarine has an oxygen supply of up to 96 hours
Victor 6000 is connected to the ship by an electro-mechanical cable that is 8,000 feet long and provides 20 kW of power
Victor 6000 is a French unmanned ROV deployed by the L’Atalante ship, capable of reaching a depth of 20,000 feet
“If we continue to search, we could possibly be at that point… And that’s a discussion we’ll have with the families long before I start discussing it publicly.”
According to OceanGate, Titan’s operator, the submarine has 96 hours of emergency oxygen supply.
Search and rescue teams race against time as they search an area where sounds were detected for the missing Titan submarine. Experts say they are continuing to analyze the sounds heard this morning.
The only possible trace of the ship that is still under investigation was underwater ‘bang noises’, which were detected yesterday during the search for the missing submarine Titanic.
But the US Navy experts who analyzed the sounds said they can’t yet conclude whether they came from the stranded ship, and ROVs continued to return negative results from under the sea.
As time runs out, more equipment is expected to arrive Thursday morning, including more remotely operated vehicles (ROV) to detect sound as planes continue to scan the ocean from above.
The hope of finding the sub is pinned on the Victor 6000, which was rushed to the search area at night and can reach a depth of 20,000 feet and is rushed to the search area.
The Victor 6000 ROV may be able to attach a cable to the submarine before it is towed to the surface by the Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System, a specialized winch that in 2021 succeeded in rescuing a helicopter from 19,075 feet deep.
The time pressure is compounded by the fact that the submersibles can locate Titan, which was on its way to the Titanic’s wreckage 12,500 feet below the surface, but it takes additional specialized tools for the mammoth task of bringing it up.
Timeline (British Summer Time) of the search for the Ocean Gate submarine, if Titan has lost power the crew will be in complete darkness with temperatures of 3C
Hopes for a recovery were slightly raised on Wednesday when a Canadian P-3 aircraft equipped with sonar detected the intermittent “pop” sound.
The Coast Guard chief who is coordinating the search said noises were initially heard during the night and more were detected today.
The P-3 is one of several aircraft models that also aid the search by scouring the ocean surface and using sonar equipment for signs of activity on the seafloor.
There is also a range of military and commercial craft at the site, providing a combination of search capabilities, communications tools and rescue equipment should Titan be found.
Ultimately, it’s up to the submarines to keep an eye on Titan if it remains on the sea floor – or gets stuck in the Titanic’s wreckage.
Sean Leet, co-founder of Horizon Maritime Services, the company that owns Titan’s mothership Polar Prince, said on Wednesday that he had never seen advanced search equipment “of that nature move so fast.”
The family of the missing Titan subtourists, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman, previously gathered above the water where the ship was last seen as oxygen levels on board continued to decline.
A family source in Karachi, Pakistan, where Mr Dawood is from, released a new photo of the father and son to MailOnline and said: ‘I can tell you that Ms Dawood and her daughter are currently in the search area and will remain there as long as they can.
Sulaiman Dawood, 19, who goes missing aboard the submarine, is pictured with his mother Christine
One of the participants in the expedition is billionaire Hamish Harding (pictured), CEO of Action Aviation in Dubai. He excitedly posted on social media that he was there on Sunday
Speaking at a press conference at the US Coast Guard Station in Boston – which is coordinating the search and rescue effort – Captain Jamie Frederick of the 1st District said it was not certain whether the submarine could be saved.
“Obviously this is a very difficult time for the family and they are not coping well with the situation, they are drawing strength from each other and hoping and praying for the best.
“The messages of support they receive from all over the world also keep them positive and they are grateful for everyone’s kind thoughts and wishes.”
“It’s not clear why Mr. Dawood wanted to visit the Titanic with his son, but he is driven by a passion for research, and I understand this was something that had been planned for some time.”
In a heartbreaking plea, one of Mr Harding’s close friends, Jannicke Mikkelsen, warned ‘we are losing time’
The Dawoods belong to one of Pakistan’s most prominent families. Their eponymous company invests across the country in agriculture, industry and the health sector.
Their family, including Shahzada’s wife Christine and daughter Alina, is awaiting news about the couple.
The passengers aboard Titan are British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding and OceanGate’s CEO and Founder Stockton Rush.
In a heartbreaking plea, one of Mr Harding’s best friends, Jannicke Mikkelsen, warned that ‘we are losing time’.
The panicked friend told BBC Radio 4’s Today program yesterday: ‘I’m nervous. I’m sick of nerves. I’m terrified, I’m anxious. I’m not sleeping right now. I’m just hoping for good news. Every second, every minute feels like hours.’