US Navy rules out using heavy-duty salvage system to retrieve the Titan
The submarine that discovered the Titan shipwreck has completed four more search dives at the site – excluding the US The Navy has ruled out using its most advanced deep-sea recovery tool to pick up the pieces.
Odysseus 6k found wreckage of Titan, which imploded beneath the Atlantic Ocean with five people on board, following a massive search and rescue operation.
The French-owned submarine is now leading a search of the seafloor – 12,500 feet below the ocean’s surface – to find any more wreckage or remains of the crew who died in the disaster.
But a Navy recovery system that can retrieve wreckage from depths of 20,000 feet has now been removed from the mission. The Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System had been deployed in the hope that it could save Titan if the ship was found intact.
Officials have said it will not be used after the grim news that Titan suffered a “catastrophic implosion” that probably broke it to smithereens. All five crew members are dead and Coast Guard chiefs have said their remains may never be found.
The US Navy has said its Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System, which can recover objects from depths of 20,000 feet, will not be used in the search after Titan was crushed to smithereens
Odysseus 6K, which discovered wreckage from the submarine Titan, has searched the seabed four more times to look for other pieces or remains of the five crew members who died
FADOSS’s capabilities were highlighted in 2021 when it successfully recovered a downed US Navy helicopter from a depth of about 20,000 feet
“Attempts to mobilize equipment such as the Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System have been halted,” a Navy official said.
Instead, the official said, “efforts are focused on helping to map the debris field in preparation for salvage efforts and to support investigative actions.”
Pelagic Research Services, which operates Odysseus, said it was working closely with authorities in the ongoing search for the Titan’s wreckage.
The searches are part of a wider investigation by the US Coast Guard, which will also investigate whether OceanGate, the company that launched Titan, is guilty of any “misconduct, incompetence, negligence, incompetence or willful violation of law.”
Ed Cassano, CEO of Palagic Research Services, said: “We continue to work tirelessly in our supporting role of this mission, along with the incredible crew of Horizon Arctic, led by Captain Adam Myers.”
Horizon Arctic is the ship that launches Odysseus.
Cassano added that the team “has been successful in examining identified objects of interest.”
The salvage was described as ‘remarkably difficult and risky’ due to its depth. Titan was heading for the wreckage of the Titanic, 12,500 feet underwater where the pressure is immense.
The submarine Titan suffered a ‘catastrophic implosion’ during its journey to the Titanic wreck
Titan’s carbon fiber hull and its acrylic viewing window were subject to several warnings, and James Cameron called them “potential points of failure” on the ship
The Navy’s FADOSS was considered a critical tool due to its track record in plucking large objects from the depths of the ocean. In 2021, it pulled a downed MH-60S Seahawk helicopter from 3.8 miles under the ocean near Japan.
The helicopter crashed into the Pacific Ocean in 2020. The crew managed to abort the craft and no one was injured.
But it is believed that the nature of the damage to Titan prompted officials to withdraw FADOSS from the mission.
The U.S. Coast Guard is currently investigating the cause of the Titan submarine implosion and is not ruling out finding human remains — while also suggesting the probe could lead to criminal charges.
Captain Jason Neubauer, who is leading the investigation, said salvage operations are continuing and investigators have mapped the accident scene.
The Coast Guard opened a Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) on Friday, he said, and is working with the FBI to collect evidence.
Cpt Neubauer said the convening of an MBI is the highest level of investigation conducted by the US Coast Guard. It is unclear how long it will take. The US Coast Guard said it does not charge for search and rescue operations.
The findings will be shared with the International Maritime Organization and other groups “to help improve the safety framework for underwater operations worldwide,” Cpt Neubauer said.
Stockton Rush, along with his four passengers, perished aboard the Titan last Sunday when the ship imploded on its way to the Atlantic seabed
Shahzada Dawood, 48, (right) one of Pakistan’s richest men, who died on the Titan along with his teenage son Suleman Dawood, 19, (left)
He said the Coast Guard is in contact with the families of the five people killed and that investigators are “taking all precautions on site if we come across any human remains.”
Yesterday, the sons of British billionaire Hamish Harding paid tribute to the “best father” who they say “constantly tried to be the best man he could be.”
Vice Admiral John Mauger, of the First Coast Guard District, said: “The MBI is also responsible for the accountability aspects of the incident and may make recommendations to the appropriate authorities to impose civil or criminal sanctions if necessary.”
The US Coast Guard said on Thursday that all five people aboard the submarine had died after the ship suffered a “catastrophic implosion.”
One of Mr Harding’s sons, who was not named in Action Aviation’s statement, has praised the billionaire for being a “tenacious, hard-working businessman” and for “inspiring me more than anyone will ever know.” .
The adventurer and his wife Linda have two sons, Rory and Giles. Mr. Harding is also the stepfather of her two children from a previous relationship, Laurena and Brian.