A search and rescue mission was underway Monday morning for a submarine that went missing in the North Atlantic on an expedition to explore the wreckage of the Titanic. Lt. Jordan Hart of the US Coast Guard in Boston told CBS News that personnel were “currently undergoing a search and rescue operation” when asked about rescue efforts off the coast of Newfoundland.
OceanGate Expeditionsa company that deploys manned submersibles for deep-sea expeditions, confirmed in a statement that its diver was the subject of the rescue operation, adding that it was “exploring and mobilizing all options to return the crew with security”.
The company did not say how many people were on board the missing ship or whether any of them were paying tourists, which it does take as passengers on its expeditions.
“Our entire focus is on the crew members of the submersible and their families,” OceanGate said, adding that it was “deeply grateful for the extensive assistance we have received from various government agencies and water companies deep in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible.”
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The US Coast Guard said a tweet that “A @USCG C-130 crew searching for overdue Canadian research submarine about 900 miles away #CapeCod,” and that the Halifax Rescue Coordination Center is assisting with a P8 Poseidon aircraft, which has underwater detection capabilities.
OceanGate recently said your website and social media reports that an expedition to the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, which lies about 400 miles southeast of the coast of Newfoundland, was “underway.”
Contacted by CBS News, the Canadian Coast Guard said the rescue operation was being managed by the Boston Regional Coordination Center and a map showing the jurisdictions for the various coastal search and rescue agencies on the US coast shows the location of the Titanic wreck within the area of responsibility of downtown Boston.
Earlier this month, OceanGate said on Twitter that it was using the satellite company Starlink to help maintain communications with its Titanic expedition.
Despite being in the middle of the North Atlantic, we have the internet connection we need to make it our own #Titanic dive operations a success – thank you @Starlink! pic.twitter.com/sujBmPr3JD
— OceanGate Expeditions (@OceanGateExped) June 1, 2023
“Despite being in the middle of the North Atlantic, we have the internet connection we need to make our Titanic diving operations a success, thanks Starlink,” the tweet said. The company’s website advertises seven-night trips to see the Titanic wreck for $250,000.
The company last tweeted about the Titanic expedition on June 15.
Saturday, British businessman Hamish Harding shared on Facebook who was part of the OceanGate expedition group that had left St. Johns, Newfoundland, the day before, BBC News reports. “The diver’s team has a pair of legendary explorers, some of whom have made more than 30 dives on the RMS Titanic since the 1980s,” Harding wrote. He said it would “probably be the first and only manned mission on the Titanic in 2023” due to weather conditions, and that the team planned to begin diving operations around 4 a.m. Sunday.
OceanGate’s submersible, The Titan, is the only five-person submersible in the world capable of reaching the wreck of the Titanic, which lies 2.4 miles below the sea’s surface. David Pogue, CBS News’ “Sunday Mornings” correspondent joined the ship’s crewalong with a small group of intrepid tourists, to take a trip to see the world’s most famous shipwreck last year.
When he got into the craft, which he said had about as much interior space as a van, Pogue said he “couldn’t help but notice how many parts of this sub looked improvised, with off-the-shelf components,” including a video game controller that was used to pilot the submarine.
