E-Paper
Missing Titanic tourist sub has 40 hours of oxygen left as ex-OceanGate employee says he was fired for raising concerns
United States and Canadian authorities are on the lookout for the submersible and the people who were in it, on a journey to see the remains of theTitanic
Passengers aboard the missing submersible could now have less than two days to go until their oxygen exhausts, authorities have said. A massive search operation is underwayafter a submersible carrying five people went missing in the North Atlantic Ocean. United States and Canadian authorities are on the lookout for the submersible and the people who were in it, on a journey to see the remains of the Titanic at the bottom of the ocean. The missing Titan submersible is owned by the company OceanGate.
At a recent press conference,United States Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick said the search operation has “not yielded any results.” “There's about 40 hours of breathable air left, based on that initial report,” Jamie said.
The passengers aboard the submersible have been identified asOceanGate Expeditions CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French diver Paul Henry Nargeolet, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman.
The submersible began its journey on Sunday morning, June 18. About one hour and 45 minutes into its descent, the vessel lost contact with the Polar Prince, the support ship that transported it to the site.
OceanGate says that the Titan is a 23,000-pound submersible made of carbon fibre and titanium. The vessel uses a “proprietary real-time hull health monitoring (RTM) system,” and any time an issue is detected, an “early warning” would be sent to the pilot, to leave “enough time to … safely return to the surface.”
A formerOceanGate Expeditions employee had reportedly warned of “quality control and safety” problems related to the Titan submersible back in 2018. David Lochridge, OceanGate’s former director of marine operations, had raised concerns about how the vessel was handled by the company. As per a lawsuit, David was wrongfully terminated after he said he found a “lack of non-destructive testing performed on the hull of the Titan.”
“OceanGate gave Lochridge approximately 10 minutes to immediately clear out his desk and exit the premises,” Lochridge’s attorneys said in the filing, according to New York Post. “The paying passengers would not be aware, and would not be informed, of this experimental design, the lack of non-destructive testing of the hull, or that hazardous flammable materials were being used within the submersible.”
“We are exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely,” OceanGate Expeditions has said on Facebook. “Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families. We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible. We are working toward the safe return of the crewmembers.”
The Titan reportedly sends a ping to the Polar Prince every 15 minutes. The last ping was received while the vessel floated above the Titanic wreckage at about 3 pm local time.
