Hunt for missing submersible ‘still active search and rescue’ mission, says operation leader

Published

2 years ago

June 22, 2023

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The head of the operation that is trying to find the missing Titan submersible has said that it is still an active search and rescue mission.

That is despite US Coast Guard estimates that the air supply in the vessel would run out at 12.08pm UK time on Thursday.

The vessel – operated by the US-based firm OceanGate – had five men on board when it went missing: British billionaire Hamish Harding, British businessman Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman Dawood, OceanGate’s US-based chief executive and founder Stockton Rush and French submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

Rear Admiral John Mauger, from the US Coast Guard, told Sky News rescuers “remain hopeful” the submersible can be found, but revealed the “banging noises” detected by the sonar buoys dropped into the sea were possibly “ocean background noise”.

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He said: “We continue to keep the crew members and families in our thoughts.

“While we are cognisant of the time and we’ve factored in a lot of data and information into this search, this is still an active search and rescue at this point.

“We are using the equipment that we have on the bottom right now, remote-operated vehicles to expand our search capability, and also to provide rescue capability.”

He said conditions for the operation were “favourable” – and crews were making the most of the “weather window and the good conditions”.

Aircraft continue to fly over the area looking for the submersible on the surface, he said, but the “focus right now is on that sub-sea search”, with the remotely-operated vehicles scouring the pathline where the planned dive had taken place.

The vessel disappeared on Sunday in the Atlantic Ocean, some 435 miles south of Newfoundland, Canada, during an expedition dive to see the wreck of the Titanic.

It lost communication with tour operators about an hour and 45 minutes after the vessel submerged.

Ships, planes and underwater craft from multiple countries have since been deployed to the area with rescuers advised by world-leading experts searching a remote part of the Atlantic Ocean more than twice the size of the US state of Connecticut in waters as deep as 4,020m (13,200ft).

Two ROVs searching for sub on sea floor

One of the vessels sent to help search efforts is French research vessel L’Atalante which has deployed a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), Victor 6000.

The unmanned French robot, which can dive to a depth of 6,000 metres (19,600ft), reached the search site a few hours before the critical 96-hour mark when oxygen was due to run out.

The wreck of the Titanic, which the Titan was heading towards, lies at a depth of about 3,810 metres (12,500ft).

While the vehicle cannot lift Titan to the surface on its own, it could help to hook it to a ship on the surface.

A second ROV – deployed by Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic – has also reached the sea floor and is looking for the missing submersible.

Both ROVs have cameras and sonar.

Mr Mauger said it was an “incredibly complex effort to get this equipment on site”, adding: “They have articulated arms that are capable of attaching equipment and attaching a rescue line.”

When will the rescue effort end?

Reports of underwater sounds in the area are still being investigated but it is believed much of it may be ocean background noise.

Asked about the sounds, Mr Mauger said that analysis of these by experts is ongoing.

“The initial report is that there’s a lot of the sounds that were generated were from background ocean noise, but they continue to… look for all available information there,” he said.

“What’s important to me… is that we’ve continued to search in the areas where noise was detected with the ROVs that we had from the time of that detection, so we’re not waiting for this analysis to take action.”

He said any decision to stop the rescue effort would be taken after a “thorough consultation” with the families of the passengers on the submersible.

“There’s a time and place for that discussion. Right now… we will remain focused on the search and rescue but continue to take in all available information as we plan out our future operation.”

He said there would in due course be an investigation into what has led to the submersible going missing.

“There’s going to be a time and place for a thorough investigation,” he added.

‘Sub’s life support supplies are starting to run low’

In a statement published online Guillermo Sohnlein, co-founder of OceanGate, thanked the people involved in the search and rescue – and claimed the time window the people on board have is larger than the estimated 96 hours.

“Today will be a critical day in this search and rescue mission, as the sub’s life support supplies are starting to run low,” he said in a statement.

“I’m certain that Stockton and the rest of the crew realised days ago that the best thing they can do to ensure their rescue is to extend the limits of those supplies by relaxing as much as possible.

“I firmly believe that the time window available for their rescue is longer than what most people think.

“I would encourage everyone to remain hopeful for getting the crew back safely.”

However, some experts have said the chances of finding the sub and rescuing those inside is diminishing.

The situation is “gloomy” and “we have to prepare ourselves for the worst”, retired rear admiral Chris Parry told Sky News.

He said the chances of survival for the Titan crew are “vanishingly small”, given the “extreme limits for their oxygen”.

World

Why hastily declared ceasefires tend to be fragile

Published

14 hours ago

June 24, 2025

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Why hastily declared ceasefires tend to be fragile

Ceasefires that are suddenly declared tend to be pretty fragile.

Stable ceasefires usually require a lot of preparation so that everyone on both sides knows what is supposed to happen, and – more importantly – when.

And they normally agree on how it will be monitored so one side cannot seize a quick advantage by breaking it suddenly.

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Without such preparations, and sometimes even with them, ceasefires will tend to be breached – perhaps by accident, perhaps because one side does not exercise full control over its own forces, perhaps as a result of false alarms, or even because a third party – a guerrilla group or a militia, say – choose that moment to launch an attack of their own.

The important question is whether a ceasefire breach is just random and unfortunate, or else deliberate and systemic – where someone is actively trying to break it.

Either way, ceasefires have to be politically reinforced all the time if they are to hold.

All sides may need to rededicate themselves to it at regular intervals, mainly because, as genuine enemies, they won’t trust each other and will remain naturally suspicious at every twitch and utterance from the other side.

This is where an external power like the United States plays a critical part.

If enemies like Israel and Iran naturally distrust each other and need little incentive to “hit back” in some way at every provocation, it will take US pressure to make them abide by a ceasefire that may be breaking down.

Appeals to good nature are hardly relevant in this respect. An external arbiter has to make the continuance of a ceasefire a matter of hard national interest to both sides.

And that often requires as much bullying as persuasion. It may be true that “blessed are the peacemakers”.

World

Five key takeaways from Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s interview with Sky News

Published

14 hours ago

June 24, 2025

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Five key takeaways from Volodymyr Zelenskyy's interview with Sky News

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has given a wide-ranging interview to Sky News in which he was asked about the prospect of Russia attacking NATO, whether he would cede land as part of a peace deal and how to force Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.

The Ukrainian president spoke to chief presenter Mark Austin.

Here are the five key takeaways from their discussion.

NATO ‘at risk of attack’

Mr Zelenskyy said plans for NATO members to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 are “very slow” and warned Russia could attack a NATO country within five years to test the alliance.

“We believe that, starting from 2030, Putin can have significantly greater capabilities,” he said. “Today, Ukraine is holding him up, he has no time to drill the army.”

But while Mr Zelenskyy conceded his ambition to join NATO “isn’t possible now”, he asserted long term “NATO needs Ukrainians”.

US support ‘may be reduced’

Asked about his views on the Israel-Iran conflict, and the impact of a wider Middle East war on Ukraine, Mr Zelenskyy accepted the “political focus is changing”.

“This means that aid from partners, above all from the United States, may be reduced,” he said.

“He [Putin] will increase strikes against us to use this opportunity, to use the fact that America’s focus is changing over to the Middle East.”

On the subject of Mr Putin’s close relationship with Iran, which has supplied Russia with attack drones, Mr Zelenskyy said: “The Russians will feel the advantage on the battlefield and it will be difficult for us.”

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Trump and Putin ‘will never be friends’

Mr Zelenskyy was sceptical about Mr Putin’s relationship with Donald Trump.

“I truly don’t know what relationship Trump has with Putin… but I am confident that President Trump understands that Ukrainians are allies to America, and the real existential enemy of America is Russia.

“They may be short-term partners, but they will never be friends.”

On his relationship with Mr Trump, Mr Zelenskyy was asked about whether he felt bullied by the US president during their spat in the Oval Office.

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“I believe I conducted myself honestly. I really wanted America to be a strong partner… and to be honest, I was counting on that,” he said.

In a sign of potential frustration, the Ukrainian president added: “Indeed, there were things that don’t bring us closer to ending the war. There were some media… standing around us… talking about some small things like my suit. It’s not the main thing.”

Putin and peace talks

Mr Zelenskyy was clear he supported both a ceasefire and peace talks, adding that he would enter negotiations to understand “if real compromises are possible and if there is a real way to end the war”.

But he avoided directly saying whether he would be willing to surrender four annexed regions of Ukraine, as part of any peace deal.

“I don’t believe that he [Putin] is interested in these four regions. He wants to occupy Ukraine. Putin wants more,” he said.

“Putin is counting on a slow occupation of Ukraine, the reduction in European support and America standing back from this war completely… plus the removal of sanctions.

“But I think the strategy should be as follows: Pressure on Putin with political sanctions, with long-range weapons… to force him to the negotiating table.”

Russia ‘using UK tech for missiles’

On Monday, Mr Zelenskyy met Sir Keir Starmer and agreed to share battlefield technology, boosting Ukraine’s drone production, which Mr Zelenskyy described as a “strong step forward”.

But he also spoke about the failure to limit Russia’s access to crucial technology being used in military hardware.

He said “components for missiles and drones” from countries “including the UK” were being used by Russian companies who were not subject to sanctions.

“It is vitally important for us, and we’re handing these lists [of Russian companies] over to our partners and asking them to apply sanctions. Otherwise, the Russians will have missiles,” he added.

World

At least 25 people killed after Israeli forces open fire near aid trucks in Gaza, witnesses say

Published

14 hours ago

June 24, 2025

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At least 25 people killed after Israeli forces open fire near aid trucks in Gaza, witnesses say

At least 25 people have been killed after Israeli forces opened fire towards people waiting for aid trucks in Gaza, according to witnesses and hospitals.

The Awda hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp, which received the victims, said the Palestinians were waiting for the trucks on a road south of Wadi Gaza.

Witnesses told the Associated Press (AP) news agency Israeli forces opened fire as people were advancing to be close to the approaching trucks.

Israel-Iran live updates: Trump tells two sides ‘do not violate’ ceasefire

The Awda hospital said another 146 Palestinians were wounded. Among them were 62 in a critical condition, who were transferred to other hospitals in central Gaza, it added.

In the central town of Deir al-Balah, the Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital said it received the bodies of six people who were killed in the same incident.

“It was a massacre,” one witness, Ahmed Halawa, said.

He said tanks and drones fired at people, “even as we were fleeing – many people were either martyred or wounded”.

Another witness, Hossam Abu Shahada, said drones were flying over the area, watching the crowds. Then there was gunfire from tanks and drones, leaving a “chaotic and bloody” scene as people attempted to escape.

He said he saw at least three people lying on the ground motionless and many others wounded as he fled.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the reports.

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency, described the aid delivery mechanism in Gaza as “an abomination that humiliates and degrades desperate people”.

He added: “It is a death trap, costing more lives than it saves.”

A spokesperson for the UN’s Human Rights Office said: “The weaponisation of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law.”

Around 56,000 Palestinians have been killed during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. The ministry says more than half of the dead were women and children, but does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its count.

The war began after Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, when militants stormed across the border and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostages. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefire agreements.