Washington DC: As the possible final hours of oxygen left on board, the tiny vessel ticked off the clock on Thursday morning, the race against time to find a submersible that vanished on its way to the Titanic debris site entered a new chapter of desperation.
Rescuers have sent extra ships and vessels to the location of the disappearance in the hopes that the underwater sounds they have been hearing for a second day in succession will help focus their search during the urgent, global effort. However, the Titan's crew was only equipped with a four-day supply of oxygen when it departed on Sunday morning at around 6 a.m.
Even those who voiced optimism cautioned that there are still numerous challenges to overcome before the vessel can be brought to the surface, assuming it is still in good condition. And all of it must occur before the oxygen supply for the passengers runs out, Associated Press reported.
The entire search area, which included 4,020 meter-deep waters, was twice the size of Connecticut. Authorities are still hopeful that the five individuals on board can be saved, according to Captain Jamie Frederick of the First Coast Guard District.
“This is a search and rescue mission, 100 per cent,” he said Wednesday.
According to oceanographer Donald Murphy, who served as the International Ice Patrol's chief scientist, the region of the North Atlantic where the Titan disappeared on Sunday is also prone to fog and stormy weather, making it a very difficult environment for a search-and-rescue operation.
Meanwhile, according to recently discovered claims, the submersible's development process included substantial cautions concerning vessel safety.
Although the sounds that have been heard could help focus the search, Frederick said they had not yet been located or identified.
To be honest, he continued, "We have no idea what these are.
The sounds have been referred to as "banging noises," according to retired Navy Capt. Carl Hartsfield, who is now the head of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Systems Laboratory.
“We don’t know what they are, to be frank,” he said.
Retired Navy Capt. Carl Hartsfield, now the director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Systems Laboratory, said the sounds have been described as “banging noises,” but he warned that search crews “have to put the whole picture together in context and they have to eliminate potential manmade sources other than the Titan.”
Some analysts found the claim to be optimistic because submarine crews are instructed to hammer on their submersibles' hulls in order to be picked up by sonar when they are unable to communicate with the surface.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the US Navy announced that it was sending specialised salvage equipment that can lift "large, bulky, and heavy undersea objects such as aircraft or small vessels."
The Titan is 9,071 kilogrammes in weight. According to the US Navy's website, the Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System can lift up to 27,216 kg.
The CEO of the corporation leading the expedition, pilot Stockton Rush, is missing aboard the ship. A British explorer, two members of a Pakistani business family, and a Titanic expert are among his passengers. The mission was overseen by OceanGate Expeditions.
Authorities launched a search in waters some 700 kilometres south of St. John's after receiving a report that the 6.7-meter carbon-fibre vessel was overdue.
According to officials, the Titan had a 96-hour oxygen supply, allowing them till early Thursday morning to locate and raise the ship.
The projected oxygen supply, according to Frank Owen, a submarine search and rescue specialist, is a valuable "target" for searchers but is only based on a "nominal amount of consumption." The diver on the Titan, according to Owen, would probably advise passengers to "do anything to reduce your metabolic levels so that you can actually extend this."
According to documents the corporation sent to a US District Court in Norfolk, Virginia, which is in charge of handling cases surrounding the Titanic disaster, at least 46 persons successfully travelled aboard OceanGate's submersible to the Titanic wreck site in 2021 and 2022.
One of the business's original clients described a dive he took to the location two years ago as a "kamikaze operation."
“Imagine a metal tube a few meters long with a sheet of metal for a floor. You can’t stand. You can’t kneel. Everyone is sitting close to or on top of each other,” said Arthur Loibl, a retired businessman and adventurer from Germany. “You can’t be claustrophobic.”
He claimed that in order to save energy, all of the lights were shut out for the 2.5-hour descent and ascent, with only a fluorescent glow stick providing lighting.
The balancing weights and battery issue kept the dive from going as planned. The trip took 10.5 hours in total.
A simple, readily available video game controller was used by OceanGate to control the Titan, drawing criticism for this decision. However, the manufacturer claims that many of the vessel's components are off the shelf because they have proven to be reliable.
“It’s meant for a 16-year-old to throw it around,” and is “super durable,” Rush told the CBC in an interview last year while he demonstrated by throwing the controller around the Titan’s tiny cabin. He said a couple of spares are kept on board “just in case.”
The submersible has seven backup devices, including an inflatable balloon, drop-off lead pipes, and sandbags, to get back to the surface.
The vessel is too deep for human divers to reach, according to Jeff Karson, an emeritus professor of earth and environmental sciences at Syracuse University. The temperature is slightly above freezing. He suggested that using a remotely controlled robot on a fibre optic line might give you the best chance of getting to the submersible.
“I am sure it is horrible down there,” Karson said. “It is like being in a snow cave and hypothermia is a real danger.”
According to documents, OceanGate had been informed that the experimental vessel's construction might pose catastrophic safety issues.
In a 2018 lawsuit, OceanGate's head of marine operations, David Lochridge, claimed that the organization's testing and certification were insufficient and would “subject passengers to potential extreme danger in an experimental submersible.”
The company insisted that Lochridge was “not an engineer and was not hired or asked to perform engineering services on the Titan.” The firm also says the vessel under development was a prototype, not the now-missing Titan.
The Marine Technology Society, which describes itself as “a professional group of ocean engineers, technologists, policy-makers, and educators,” also expressed concern that year in a letter to Rush, OceanGate’s chief executive.
The society argued that in order to protect passengers, the business must submit its prototype to testing reviewed by an industry professional before going live. Those documents were initially covered by The New York Times.
British explorer Hamish Harding, Pakistani citizens Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, whose namesake company invests nationwide, and French explorer and Titanic expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet are among the passengers that are lost on the Titan.
Retired Navy Vice Admiral Robert Murrett, who is now deputy director of the Institute for Security Policy and Law at Syracuse University, said the disappearance underscores the dangers associated with operating in deep water and the recreational exploration of the sea and space.
“I think some people believe that because modern technology is so good, that you can do things like this and not have accidents, but that’s just not the case,” he said.