Missing Titanic tourist sub: Canadian aircraft detects underwater noises
Titanic Authorities launched a search after a submersible vanished in the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday, June 18, 2023, during a trip to see the wreckage of the Titanic. (Xavier Desmier/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images, File)
By Theresa Seiger, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Authorities estimate that the submersible that vanished Sunday during a dive on the wreckage of the Titanic has enough breathable air to last until Thursday under the best of circumstances as crews continue to scour the area for any sign of the vessel.
A Canadian research vessel lost contact Sunday with the Titan, a 21-foot submersible owned by OceanGate Expeditions, about 900 miles east of Cape Cod. Five people were onboard the Titan at the time it disappeared.
Coast Guard: Canadian aircraft detects underwater noises
Update 1:09 a.m. EDT June 21: The US Coast Guard said a Canadian aircraft detected underwater noises during its search for the Titan, a 21-foot submersible that disappeared Sunday during a dive to the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, The Associated Press reported.
The noises were detected by a Canadian P-3 aircraft, which has shifted rescuers’ search efforts, according to the news organization. Those searches have still been fruitless but have continued.
Search crews continue to look for the five-person crew, as the vessel could run out of oxygen by Thursday morning, the AP reported.
Earlier, CNN reported that an internal U.S. government memo said crews heard banging at 30-minute intervals.
— Bob D’Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Submersible has about 40 hours of air left, officials estimate
Update 1:30 p.m. June 20: Coast Guard Capt. Jamie Frederick estimated that the Titan had about 40 hours of breathable air left on Tuesday as efforts to find the submersible continue.
The Titan had an estimated 96 hours of breathable air when it vanished on Sunday. Search efforts have so far uncovered no signs of the missing vessel.
“This is a very complex search and the unified team is working around the clock to bring all available assets and expertise to bear as quickly as possible in an effort to solve this very complex problem,” Frederick said.
Search efforts ‘have not yielded any results,’ USCG says
Update 1:25 p.m. EDT June 20: Searches by air and sea have found no sign of the Titan, Coast Guard Capt. Jamie Frederick said at a news conference Tuesday.
“Our crews are working around the clock to ensure that we are doing everything possible to locate the Titan and the five crew members,” he said.
The Coast Guard is coordinating search and rescue efforts with other agencies, including the U.S. Navy, the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Coast Guard.
“To date, those search efforts have not yielded any results,” Frederick said.
Original report: Authorities have searched more than 10,000 square miles for signs of a submersible that vanished Sunday during a trip to see the wreckage of the Titanic.
The submersible, owned by OceanGate Expeditions, had five people onboard when it went into the water about 900 miles east of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, the U.S. Coast Guard said. By sea and air, U.S. and Canadian officials have searched an area bigger than the state of Vermont.
“We’re working very closely at this point to make sure that we’re doing everything that we can do to locate the submersible and rescue those on board,” Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger said Monday at a news conference. He noted at the time that officials believed the submersible had between 70 to 96 hours of emergency capabilities onboard.
The Coast Guard is expected to share an update on the search effort at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Officials said the Polar Prince, a Canadian research vessel, lost contact with OceanGate’s submersible during a dive on Sunday morning. On Monday night, officials with OceanGate Expeditions said they were “exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely.”
“Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families,” the company said. “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 Titanic was a British passenger liner and the largest ship of its time. It hit an iceberg and sank in the Atlantic Ocean during its maiden voyage in 1912, killing more than 1,500 of the roughly 2,220 people onboard.
The wreckage of the ship sits about 380 nautical miles south of Newfoundland in Canada at a depth of about 12,800 feet.
Titanic FILE PHOTO: On September 1, 1985, underwater explorer Robert Ballard located the world's most famous shipwreck. The Titanic lay largely intact at a depth of 12,000 feet off the coast of St. John's, Newfoundland. Using a small submersible craft, Ballard explored the wreck in 1986, taking a series of spectacular and haunting pictures and giving the world its first glimpse of the legendary ship in 73 years. (Ralph White/Getty Images)
Titanic 29th April 1912: Stewards who survived the Titanic shipwreck line up outside a first class waiting room before being called in for questioning by the board of enquiry. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images) (Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
Titanic NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 05: Artifacts recovered from the wreck site of the RMS Titanic on display at the Titanic Auction preview at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum on January 5, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/WireImage) (John Lamparski/WireImage)
Titanic Undated artist impression showing the 14 April 1912 shipwreck of the British luxury passenger liner Titanic off the Nova-Scotia coasts, during its maiden voyage. The supposedly 'Unsinkable' Titanic set sail down Southampton Water en-route to New York on 10 April 1912 and met disaster on 14 April 1912 after hitting an iceberg off Newfoundland shortly before midnight and sinking two hours later, killing about 1,500 passengers and ship personnel. (Photo credit: OFF/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP/AFP via Getty Images)
Titanic A.U.V.s explore the wreck of the Titanic (Mmdi/Getty Images)
Titanic RMS Titanic Of The White Star Line Sinking Around 2 20 Am Monday Morning April 15 1912 After Hitting An Iceberg In The North Atlantic (Photo by: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty)
Titanic The 46 328 Tons RMS Titanic Of The White Star Line Which Sank At 2 20 Am Monday Morning April 15 After Hitting Iceberg In North Atlantic 1912 (Photo by: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty)
Titanic The White Star Line passenger liner R.M.S. Titanic embarking on its ill-fated maiden voyage. (Bettmann/Bettmann Archive)
Titanic Purser Hugh Walter McElroy and Captain Edward J. Smith aboard the Titanic during the run from Southampton to Queenstown, England. The man who took the photograph, Rev. F.M. Browne, got off at Queenstown, three days before the ship hit an iceberg and sank. (Photo by Ralph White/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images) (Krista Few/Corbis via Getty Images)
Titanic Some of the Titanic's Notable Passengers', April 20, 1912. Photographs of well-to-do passengers, some 'known to be saved'. The White Star Line ship RMS 'Titanic' struck an iceberg in thick fog off Newfoundland on 14 April 1912. She was the largest and most luxurious ocean liner of her time, and thought to be unsinkable. In the collision, five of her watertight compartments were compromised and she sank. Out of the 2228 people on board, only 705 survived. A major cause of the loss of life was the insufficient number of lifeboats she carried. Page 5, from "Titanic In Memoriam Number", a special supplement in "The Daily Graphic" newspaper issued following the sinking of the 'Titanic' on 15 April 1912, published on 20 April 1912. Artist Unknown. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images) (Print Collector/Getty Images)
Titanic A spare anchor sits in its well on the forepeek of the shipwrecked Titanic. (Ralph White/Getty Images)
Titanic (Ralph White/Getty Images)
Titanic Allan Carlin, general counsel for RMS Titanic Inc., poses for photographers in front of a section of the hull of the RMS Titanic at the Commonwealth Pier in Boston, 21 August. The 20-ton steel piece, which was recovered 10 August from the floor of the Atlantic off Newfoundland 10 miles from the original wreck site, will join the Titanic exhibition underway at the World Trade Center in Boston. (Photo credit: STUART CAHILL/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP/AFP via Getty Images)
Titanic A telegraph message from a ship called Olympic reports that it has received word from the Titanic that it has stuck an iceberg. The message is one of several similar messages from ships in the vicinity of the Titanic detailing the events leading up to it's sinking which were on display 13 February at Christie's East in New York City and will be auctioned as part of a Maritime auction on 17 February. AFP PHOTO Matt CAMPBELL (Photo credit: MATT CAMPBELL/AFP via Getty Images) (MATT CAMPBELL/AFP via Getty Images)
Titanic Features which Contributed to the Splendours of the Titanic', April 20, 1912. A single-berth state room, a deck state room, the swimming pool, the Turkish Bath Cooling Room, the Verandah Cafe, the main staircase, the Georgian Smoke Room and the restaurant. The luxurious interior decoration included French walnut panelling, mother-of-pearl inlay and climbing plants. The White Star Line ship RMS 'Titanic' struck an iceberg in thick fog off Newfoundland on 14 April 1912. She was the largest and most luxurious ocean liner of her time, and thought to be unsinkable. In the collision, five of her watertight compartments were compromised and she sank. Out of the 2228 people on board, only 705 survived. A major cause of the loss of life was the insufficient number of lifeboats she carried. Page 6, from "Titanic In Memoriam Number", a special supplement in "The Daily Graphic" newspaper issued following the sinking of the 'Titanic' on 15 April 1912, published on 20 April 1912. Artist Unknown. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images) (Print Collector/Getty Images)
Titanic Titanic -- A 20-ton section of the hull of the Titanic was lowered into a pool underneath the Union Depot Concourse, the location of "Titanic The Exhibition." The piece was retrieved from the wreck site of the Titanic on August 10, 1998, during the most recent expedition to the ship's location at the bottom of the North Atlantic. The hull piece measures 20 feet high and 26 feet wide and is by far the largest object to ever have been retrieved from the wreck site. The section of the hull, which has several portholes and is reinforced on the inside by steel beams, comes from a part of the ship midway between the port and the stern. It is the outer wall of an unoccupied first-class cabin on C-deck.The piece will be displayed in a 5 foot deep pool filledwith a solution of soda ash and water. This will be the beginning of many months of conservation treatment designed to draw the salts out of the metal.(Photo By JERRY HOLT/Star Tribune via Getty Images) (JERRY HOLT/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
Titanic (Krista Few/Getty Images)
Titanic Sinking of the Titanic April 1912: lifeboat of the Titanic, seen from the deck of the ship Carpathia (Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images) (United Archives/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
Titanic Sets of breakfast dishes from the sunken Titanic (1912) are shown in New York, 25 August 1987, in the position they were found by expedition Titanic 1987. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images) (-/AFP via Getty Images)
Titanic On board the RMS Carpathia, the castaways of the RMS Titanic are supplied with blankets to keep warm. (Photo by: Carl Simon/United Archives/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (United Archives/Archiv Carl Simon/Universal Images Group via Getty)
Titanic The hole from the number one funnel of the shipwrecked Titanic. (Ralph White/Getty Images)
Titanic British merchant seaman Sir Arthur Henry Rostron (1869 - 1940) (center), captain of the RMS Carpathia, is presented with a trophy cup by American socialite Molly Brown (1867 - 1932), New York, New York, May 29, 1912. The Carpathia had been instrumental in the rescue of 705 passengers, one of whom was Brown, from the sinking RMS Titanic the previous month. (Photo by Bain Photo Collection/PhotoQuest/Getty Images) (PhotoQuest/Getty Images)
Titanic Sender of the "S. O. S."' Signal for Help', (April 20), 1912. John George Phillips (nicknamed Jack, 1887-1912) was the ship's senior wireless operator who tried to save the 'Titanic' and all those on board by transmitting pleas for help until the ship lost power and sank. He died in the tragedy and his body was never recovered. The White Star Line ship RMS 'Titanic' struck an iceberg in thick fog off Newfoundland on 14 April 1912. She was the largest and most luxurious ocean liner of her time, and thought to be unsinkable. In the collision, five of her watertight compartments were compromised and she sank. Out of the 2228 people on board, only 705 survived. A major cause of the loss of life was the insufficient number of lifeboats she carried. Page 8, from "Titanic In Memoriam Number", a special supplement in "The Daily Graphic" newspaper issued following the sinking of the 'Titanic' on 15 April 1912, published on 20 April 1912. Artist Unknown. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images) (Print Collector/Getty Images)
Titanic RMS Titanic passenger liner of the White Star Line. From The Story of 25 Eventful Years in Pictures, published 1935. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty)
Titanic The Scene Round the Fateful Board at Southampton', April 20, 1912. Anxious relatives and friends wait for news after the disaster. The White Star Line ship RMS 'Titanic' struck an iceberg in thick fog off Newfoundland on 14 April 1912. She was the largest and most luxurious ocean liner of her time, and thought to be unsinkable. In the collision, five of her watertight compartments were compromised and she sank. Out of the 2228 people on board, only 705 survived. A major cause of the loss of life was the insufficient number of lifeboats she carried. Page 20, from "Titanic In Memoriam Number", a special supplement in "The Daily Graphic" newspaper issued following the sinking of the 'Titanic' on 15 April 1912, published on 20 April 1912. Artist Unknown. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images) (Print Collector/Getty Images)
Titanic Playing cards recovered from the wreck of the RMS Titanic are displayed at an exhibition in Memphis, Tennessee. (Todd Gipstein; RMS Titanic, Inc./Getty Images)
Titanic Funeral and memorial service for the dead of the shipwreck of the RMS Titanic, 1912. (Photo by: Carl Simon/United Archives/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (United Archives/Archiv Carl Simon/Universal Images Group via Getty)