Since Sunday, June 18, 2023, crews have been desperately searching for any sign of the missing Titan submersible. The underwater vehicle, which currently has 5 people onboard, lost contact with its mother ship only an hour and 45 minutes into its dive, and teams have been attempting to locate it ever since.
It is predicted that the vessel will run out of oxygen sometime today around 10:00 GMT. And as the clock ticks on, the whole world watches anxiously in hopes that these people may still be rescued.
After banging sounds were reported to have been detected by a Canadian aircraft on Wednesday, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope. But unfortunately, there have been no answers as to the location of the submersible just yet.
Crews are still desperately searching for the missing Titan submersible
Image credits: oceangate
While the vessel is expected to run out of oxygen in mere hours, searchers are trying to cling onto any shred of hope they have
Image credits: oceangate
The Titan was set to embark on an 8-day journey exploring the wreckage of the Titanic
Image credits: CBS
While it started as an adventure for several passengers to explore the wreckage of the Titanic, the Titan submersible has turned into many people’s worst nightmare. Despite rescue teams searching desperately for the submarine since Sunday, experts report that the situation has become even more dire, as the vessel’s oxygen supply is anticipated to run out as early as 10:00 GMT today, June 22. However, it’s impossible to know exactly when the supply will run out, as it depends on several factors. “One of the factors that makes it hard to predict how much oxygen is left is that we do not know the rate of the consumption of oxygen per occupant on the sub," Rear Admiral John Mauger from the US Coast Guard told the BBC.
Oisin Fanning, who has been on this journey to visit the Titanic wreck in the past and knows some of the passengers on board the missing submersible, is confident that those in the vessel would know how to conserve oxygen and start implementing strategies to do so right away. But as oxygen levels in the sub fall, the rising carbon dioxide levels become an increasingly dangerous threat. “As levels of carbon dioxide build up, then it becomes sedative, it becomes like an anesthetic gas, and you will go to sleep,” Dr. Ken LeDez, a hyperbaric medicine expert at Memorial University in St John's, Newfoundland, told the BBC.
Apparently, the fitness levels of passengers and the conditions in the submersible can also affect how long their oxygen lasts. Dr. LeDez says that if the sub is facing extremely low temperatures, those on board might be facing hypothermia and a loss of consciousness. However, this might actually be beneficial in this situation, as it could slow their metabolisms down and help them survive longer. “They're very smart... very accomplished people in there," Dr. LeDez says. "If anybody can survive" in it, "it's these individuals." However, if everyone on board is incapable of staying awake, they can’t do much to help themselves be rescued, Dr. LeDez added.
The tour was run by OceanGate Expeditions, which has apparently had issues tracking submarines in the past
Image credits: Pogue
Last year, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush shared a video detailing how simple the construction of the Titan was
Image credits: CBC NL
Here is the only toilet available on the vessel
Image credits: CBC NL
Which has a viewport that Rush says passengers can look out of
Image credits: CBC NL
Rush also showed viewers the control screen and sonar screen
Image credits: CBC NL
Image credits: CBC NL
The entire submersible is run by a video game controller and touch screens
Image credits: CBC NL
Image credits: CBC NL
Image credits: CBC NL
It’s no surprise that experiencing something like this would be extremely traumatic for all involved. The Daily Mail spoke to Dr. Sohom Das, a forensic psychiatrist, to understand more about what these passengers are going through. On board the Titan are 5 individuals: British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani-born businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman, French submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and OceanGate CEO and founder Stockton Rush. Dr. Das says that the passengers must be in “intense emotional turmoil” as they realize that they’re running out of oxygen soon.
“On the one hand, part of them is still going to be clinging on to hope,” he told the Daily Mail. “There's going to be a part of them that believes that they will be found and they will be rescued. But I think as time passes, reality is going to seep in.” The combination of emotional and physical trauma that those on board are experiencing will be terrible. “They're going to suffer from physical symptoms from hyperventilation to feeling dizzy to chest pains. They're just going to be overwhelmed emotionally with trying to get to grips with what's happening to them,” Dr. Das continued.
And while he imagines that none of them were claustrophobic prior to this experience, “Nevertheless, I'm sure the intense, claustrophobic nature of the scenario that they're in as they come to grips with the possibility of losing their lives will just add to the overall tension and the feelings of anxiety that they have.”
Here's what the inside of the sub, which is about the size of a mini van, looks like
Image credits: Pogue
Image credits: CBC NL
While it might sound crazy to embark on a journey two miles under the sea in a compact 22-foot-long vessel, this is not the first group of people who have set off in the Titan before. OceanGate’s Titanic Expeditions have been inviting guests on 8-day journeys to explore the famous ship’s wreckage since 2022. The experience costs $250,000 per person and is part of an increasingly popular trend of extreme tourism. “What I’ve seen with the ultra-rich – money is no object when it comes to experiences. They want something that they'll never forget,” Nick D’Annunzio, the owner of TARA, Ink., a public relations firm specializing in special events, told CNN.
However, just because someone has a bank account that allows them to go on extreme adventures doesn’t mean that they can pay enough to eliminate the risks. When it comes to the Titan submersible in particular, OceanGate was not subject to many government regulations or safety standards simply because the technology was too new for there to be standards in place. And while the company’s website assured passengers that “this does not mean that OceanGate doesn’t meet standards where they apply,” it is questionable how safe the vessel truly is. Even reporter David Pogue shared a frightening journey that didn’t go quite as planned when he took a trip on the Titan in 2022.
Last summer, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush was featured in a video detailing exactly what the submersible tank is like. The footage, which is now eery considering what we all know, shows him giving a tour of the 22-foot-long sub, showing off the toilet, control and sonar screens, and the video game controller which runs the entire sub. While it’s still a mystery exactly where the sub is today, the whole world is holding out hope, and search teams have been expanded in recent hours.
Reporter David Pogue previously took a trip on the Titan sub where they had a particularly difficult time locating the shipwreck
Image credits: CBS Sunday Morning
Image credits: CBS Sunday Morning
Image credits: CBS Sunday Morning
Image credits: CBS Sunday Morning
Image credits: CBS Sunday Morning
Image credits: CBS Sunday Morning
Image credits: CBS Sunday Morning
Concerned viewers from around the world have shared their thoughts on the heartbreaking situation
