THE SQUIZ

The search for the missing Titan submersible has entered its fourth day, and there was a surge of hope yesterday after a sonar-equipped Canadian aircraft twice “detected underwater noises in the search area”. In response, the US Coast Guard said that its remote-operated search vessels were redirected to identify the noises’ source. But time is of the essence with the vessel’s emergency air supply set to run out later today. “I pray for a miracle. At this point, I think that’s what it would take to find these folks alive,” said CBS science reporter David Pogue, who took a trip in the Titan to view the Titanic shipwreck last year.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE OPERATOR’S SAFETY RECORD?

OceanGate’s CEO Stockton Rush, who is one of the 5 passengers aboard the Titan, is a longtime booster of deep-sea tourism and has been described as one of the “great American dreamers”. And what OceanGate does is pretty unique and inherently dangerous. But reports say that back in 2018, an employee raised concerns about “the potential dangers to passengers of the Titan as the submersible reached extreme depths”. An industry group also penned a letter voicing concerns that the “experimental” approach of the Titan craft risked “negative outcomes (from minor to catastrophic)”. Another thing to consider is it’s possible that the Titan has come to the surface but hasn’t been found. Yesterday, Pogue said that because the passengers are bolted in from the outside, “even if they can see the air through the plexiglass window, they can’t get to it” because they are sealed in. “That, to me, is a horror story,” he said. 

WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

So far, at least 4 aircraft and half a dozen boats are assisting in the search and rescue mission, with more equipment incoming. American and Canadian military planes have been sweeping the ocean in case, as Pogue says, the Titan has already surfaced. And sonar probes have been dropped into the ocean – it’s these that detected the noises that have rescuers hopeful. Also en route to the search site is a French boat carrying an exploration robot, which is remote-controlled via an 8km cord. One of the 5 missing passengers is a French Titanic expert, Paul-Henri Nargeolet – reports say he’s made more than 35 previous trips to the famous wreck. In a 2019 interview, Nargeolet made it clear that he was aware of the risks. “When you’re in very deep water, you’re dead before you realise that something is happening, so it’s just not a problem.”