What happened to the submarine that disappeared while visiting the Titanic wreck?

The Titanic wreck has been lying deep at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean since 1912.

ATLANTIC PRODUCTIONS/MAGELLAN

According to CNN on June 20, experts are concerned about many possibilities that could happen to the missing submarine while visiting the Titanic wreck in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Titan submersible lost contact with the Polar Prince surface ship on the morning of June 18 and was designed to dive continuously for 96 hours (4 days). It is not clear whether the submersible is still submerged or has surfaced but lost contact. Currently, many ships and planes from the US and Canada, along with modern equipment, are participating in the search race.

US, Canada try to find submarine carrying billionaire who went missing while diving to visit Titanic wreck

After nearly two days of fruitless searching, experts are not optimistic and have raised possibilities that could have happened to the submarine in similar situations.

One major risk is that the submersible loses power, leading to a loss of communications, said Eric Fusil, a submarine expert and associate professor at the University of Adelaide in Australia. Some submersibles have a secondary power source, in case the main power source fails. However, it is unclear whether the Titan submersible has a backup power source, according to Fusil.

Titan submersible can stay underwater for 96 hours continuously

Another possibility is that an electrical short circuit could cause a fire on board, which would not only harm the ship itself but also cause toxic fumes in a small, confined space, posing a great danger to those on board.

In addition, according to Mr. Fusil, another risk is that the ship is leaking, and the enormous pressure at a depth of nearly 4,000 m near the Titanic wreck could cause many ships to collapse.

The Titan is equipped with safety features that monitor pressure and alert the driver if a problem occurs.

The final risk is that the submarine could become stuck. With strong undercurrents and the Titanic wreckage on the seabed, there is a risk that the submarine could become stuck, according to Mr. Fusil.

Identity of 5 passengers

Although authorities have not publicly identified any of the five passengers on the submarine, their friends, relatives and companies have begun to come forward with information.

Accordingly, British billionaire Hamish Harding (58 years old) was among the missing passengers on the ship.

Billionaire Hamish Harding

CNN SCREENSHOT

Mr Harding is a British businessman based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He is the founder of Action Group and chairman of Action Aviation, an international aircraft brokerage firm based in the UAE. The billionaire participated in the One More Orbit mission in 2019, which set a record for the fastest flight between the two poles.

The Polar Prince surface ship previously carried the submersible to the dive site.

According to information Mr. Harding posted on social media earlier, diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet was expected to accompany him. CBC quoted Canadian diver Larry Daley as saying that Mr. Nargeolet had joined the expedition.

Diver Nargeolet led several expeditions to the Titanic wreck and oversaw the recovery of many items from the wreck, according to E/M Group, the US company where he is director of underwater research.

The other two passengers were Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman. Their families said they were on board. Mr. Dawood is a trustee of the SETI Institute, a research organization in California, according to the institute’s website. He is also vice chairman of the Dawood Hercules Investment Group (Pakistan).

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