June 21, 2023 - Missing Titanic sub search news

The Polar Prince, the vessel that transported the Titan submersible to the dive site, will be assisting in search efforts until the mission is complete, according to the co-founder of the company that owns the support ship.

The role of the Polar Prince is to help the US Coast Guard which is leading the search and rescue, said Sean Leet, the co-founder and Chairman of Horizon Maritime Services.

The former Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker has been supporting the Titanic expedition for several years, Leet said, adding that the emergency procedures on the Polar Prince "kicked in immediately."

He said he remains in contact with the crew of 17 people on board the Polar Prince.

"Our crews and on-shore teams are experts in their fields and will continue to support this effort in any way we can," Leet said.

Horizon Maritime, which owns the Polar Prince – the support vessel that took OceanGate’s Titan out for the expedition to the Titanic and is now assisting with search and rescue – will hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m. ET in St. John's, Newfoundland, according to a news release.

The Coast Guard and other agencies assisting in the effort to find a missing submersible are still conducting a search and rescue mission, even as oxygen dwindles on board the vessel.

He said officials believe the crew on the submersible has "limited rations" of food and water. Frederick also said that the oxygen available is "just one piece of data" that rescuers are analyzing when coming up with plans and next steps.

"We have to remain optimistic and hopeful when you're in a search and rescue case," he said.

The search for the missing submersible called Titan involves surface and subsurface elements, according to Capt. Jamie Frederick, the response coordinator for the First Coast Guard District.

The location of the search is 900 miles off the coast of Cape Cod and 400 miles southeast of St. Johns, which he said makes it "difficult to mobilize large amounts of equipment quickly."

In light of these details, Frederick said the following was enlisted to help in the search efforts:

Capt. Jamie Frederick, the response coordinator for the First Coast Guard District, said Wednesday the surface search for the missing submersible is now "approximately two times the size of Connecticut and it is up to two-and-a-half miles deep."

He said that rescuers have "exponentially" expanded the area of the search, and it is expanding "every hour."

He noted that searchers have to factor in "ever-changing weather conditions" during their operation.

Searches around the area where noises were identified in the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday and Wednesday morning have "yielded negative results," the Coast Guard said, adding that crews are still efforting to locate what made the banging sounds.

"We don't know what they are," Capt. Jamie Frederick, the response coordinator for the First Coast Guard District, said of the noises.

He said ROV equipment was relocated to look for where it was coming from, and data from the Canadian aircraft that first detected the noises has been shared with experts from the US Navy.

This data will be “considered in future search plans," Frederick said, adding that so far that data has been studied so far is "inconclusive."

The Coast Guard is giving an update on the search for a missing submersible near the wreckage of the Titanic. The effort to locate the vessel is now in its fourth day, as agency officials estimate those inside may have less than a day of breathable air left.

Capt. Jamie Frederick, the response coordinator for the First Coast Guard District, is expected to speak in Boston.

Banging sounds were picked up by sonar vessels from the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday, signaling “continued hope of survivors,” according to a US government memo, but so far rescuers haven't found anything.

The sub is carrying five people — a British adventurer, a French diver, a Pakistani father and son and the founder of the company that operates the tour, according to social media posts, a family statement and sources.

A Canadian Coast Guard official confirmed Wednesday that one of its ships with “advanced deep sonar” has joined the search for the missing Titanic submersible and said that they have to keep searching until the lost vessel is found. 

“There have been sounds that have been picked up, and that just means that we will continue to double down and to figure out where the submersible is and how it can be brought to the surface,” Murray added.

Barry Lipsky, a public safety diving instructor with Team Lifeguard Systems, outlined how the search for the missing submersible is so complicated for divers attempting to carry out rescue operations.

Visibility is "next to nothing" at some of the ocean depths where the search is taking place, Lipsky said, and rescuers are relying on sonar as their "best tool to identify any location." 

He said that "the rescuers themselves have their own anxiety that they need to contend with" while trying to "stay very focused and keep the morale high."

When asked how the submersible passengers could help themselves right now, Lipsky said they should focus on staying clam and "reduce their breathing" since the oxygen is limited.

Some more context: Sonar picked up banging sounds Tuesday during the search for the Titan submersible that went missing while descending to tour the Titanic’s wreckage, indicating "continued hope of survivors," according to an internal US government memo.