Missing OceanGate Titanic Submarine Disappeared Before HOURS Last Summer
Passengers aboard a submarine to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean to see the site of the Titanic wreck last year went missing for two and a half hours after their ship lost communication with the mothership.
On Monday, CBS Sunday Morning reporter David Pogue shared his experience after the US and Canadian Coast Guards launched a search for a missing OceanGate Expeditions ship.
He said he made the $250,000-pp trip last year, but his trip was marred by bad weather and communication problems on the cramped submarine.
It now appears that history is repeating itself as the company reports that a five-passenger submarine disappeared after starting its journey at 4am on Sunday morning.
Those passengers, including British billionaire Hamish Harding, CEO of Action Aviation in Dubai, now have just over 70 hours of oxygen left.
CBS Sunday Morning reporter David Pogue shared his experience on Monday aboard an OceanGate Expeditions ship as U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard officials desperately search for one of the missing ships
He said his trip was marred by a communication breakdown aboard the cramped submarine
A passenger aboard the doomed voyage recounted how they were lost for two and a half hours
The trip had already been delayed last year by bad weather, Pogue reported
During his trip last year, Pogue reported that his trip to view the Titanic wreck site off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, had been delayed for several days due to bad weather.
Finally, after six days, he lamented, “the dive was a go.”
But as they prepared to make their final descent to the site, the communications system failed.
“There’s no underwater GPS, so the surface ship would have to direct the ship to the shipwreck by sending text messages,” Pogue said in his November 2022 news report. away. The submarine never found the wreck.’
“We were lost,” one of the passengers said in the news package. “We were lost for two and a half hours.”
Fortunately, no one was injured at the time and footage showed the passengers being lifted above sea level.
The company said it would offer passengers aboard that trip a “free transfer” in the summer. It’s unclear whether any of those explorers made their free trip when the submarine disappeared on Sunday.
Authorities are now searching for OceanGate’s 22ft carbon fiber and titanium vessel dubbed the Titan after it disappeared on Sunday while making a trip to view the Titanic’s wreckage.
It is believed to have departed St. Johns, Newfoundland on Saturday and launched the submarine around 4 a.m. on Sunday.
Passengers can be seen here aboard one of the company’s first trips last year. Those aboard the trip with Pogue were allowed to rebook a trip this summer. It is unclear whether any of them were on board when the ship disappeared on Sunday morning
OceanGate’s 22ft carbon fiber and titanium vessel called the Titan is pictured here
The Boston Coast Guard is now searching for the missing ship. The wreck of the iconic ship lies 12,500 feet underwater, about 370 miles from Newfoundland, Canada
OceanGate has not confirmed how long the submarine has been missing, but Vice Admiral John W. Mauger told Fox News that it had 72 hours of oxygen left based on OceanGate’s advertisements that the submarine has 96 hours of life support.
He added that the Coast Guard has no ships or submarines available to rescue the Titan from the ocean floor and more help is on the way.
“We don’t have any equipment on site to examine the soil… there’s a lot of debris [at this wreckage] so locating will be difficult.
“We don’t have the options at the moment. Right now we’re focused on locating it,” he said.
Marine Traffic shows that the Canadian Coast Guard’s Horizon Arctic and the Kopit Hobson 1752 are now on their way to the wreck.
The dives can last up to 10 hours each, with participants spending a total of eight days at sea aboard a larger vessel.
Among those taking part in the expedition is billionaire Hamish Harding, CEO of Action Aviation in Dubai. He excitedly posted on social media that he was there yesterday
Harding excitedly posted on social media that he was on the mission
Harding had posted excitedly about the dive. The boat departed St. John, Newfoundland, on Saturday for a Sunday morning swim
In a statement, OceanGate said: ‘We are exploring and mobilizing all options to return the crew safely.
“Our entire focus is on the submarine crew members and their families.
“We are working for the safe return of the crew members.
The company added that “several” government agencies were involved in addition to the Coast Guard.
Among those Joining the expedition is billionaire Harding, who enthusiastically posted on social media that he was there. Harding said a “window” had opened through which the group could dive.
“We’ve just opened a weather window and we’re going to try to dive tomorrow.
“We started steaming yesterday from St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada and plan to begin diving operations tomorrow morning around 4am,” he wrote.
His company, Action Aviation, posted at 4 a.m. yesterday confirming that he was “diving.” “Until then, we have a lot of preparations and briefings to do.”
The company’s CEO, Stockton Rush, previously told CBC that their submarines had capacity for five people.
“Titan is the only five-person submarine capable of going to the depth of the Titanic, which is half the depth of the ocean.”
“There are no switches and things to bump into, we have one button to turn it on.
“Everything else is done with touchscreens and computers, and that’s how you really become part of the vehicle and everyone gets to know everyone pretty well.”
The 2023 expeditions will be only the third the company has conducted on the Titan.