EVERETT, Wash. — A search is underway for a missing submersible that carries people to view the wreckage of the Titanic. The submersible had five people on board when it was reported missing on Sunday.
Two remote-operated vehicles were on scene actively searching for the submersible Tuesday, according to the Coast Guard. The agency is expected to get more resources delivered Tuesday night or Wednesday.
The U.S. Coast Guard said that a search is about 900 miles off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. The crew had about 40 hours left of oxygen in the submersible as of 10 a.m. Monday. The vessel could be on the surface or underwater.
The Coast Guard said civilian ships have offered to help in what is a "complex" search for the submersible.
Everett-based OceanGate Expeditions confirmed on Sunday it owns the missing vessel. OceanGate Expeditions CEO Stockton Rush is aboard the vessel, the company confirmed Tuesday.
“We are exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely,” the company said in a statement to KING 5. “Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families.”
The family of British billionaire Hamish Harding said he was on board the vessel. Last year Harding rode a Blue Origin rocket to space.
Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said during a press conference that the submersible was reported missing Sunday afternoon after the surface team lost contact with it about an hour and 45 minutes into the mission.
A submersible is different than a submarine. A submersible is ferried out to the location where it will go underwater, and it's able to resurface on its own, whereas a submarine is able to travel entirely on its own power.
The vessel is equipped to survive for 96 hours underwater.
One pilot and four mission specialists were on board the submersible. The mission specialists are civilians who go through training prior to the mission. Mauger could not confirm the identity of any of the people on board.
The Coast Guard launched an aerial search and coordinated with Canadian forces for additional assets. The Coast Guard deployed two C-130 aircraft to look for surface evidence of the submersible and are using sonic buoys and other technology to search below the surface. The search area is about 13,000 feet below the water's surface, Mauger said.
“It’s a remote area and it’s a challenge to conduct a search in that remote area,” Mauger said.
The Coast Guard is working on getting the capabilities for an underwater rescue out to the area.
Mauger said the Coast Guard has also been in touch with commercial fishing vessels in the area to look for the submersible.
In 2021, OceanGate Expeditions began what it expected to become an annual voyage to chronicle the deterioration of the iconic ocean liner that struck an iceberg and sank in 1912.
The company said at the time that in addition to archaeologists and marine biologists, the expeditions also would include roughly 40 paid tourists who would take turns operating sonar equipment and performing other tasks in the five-person submersible.
The initial group of tourists was funding the expedition by spending anywhere from $100,000 to $150,000 apiece. The voyages are eight days long based out of Newfoundland. The company goes out on a support ship and the submersible goes on several missions down to the Titanic over the course of the expedition. Each one of the trips is between eight to ten hours.
The Associated Press contributed.
