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”.

Titanic sub search – live: Rescue robot reaches sea floor – as oxygen forecast to have run out

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

Donald Trump sending ‘top of the line’ weapons to support NATO in Ukraine war

Published

11 hours ago

July 15, 2025

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Donald Trump sending 'top of the line' weapons to support NATO in Ukraine war

Donald Trump has agreed to send “top of the line weapons” to NATO to support Ukraine – and threatened Russia with “severe” tariffs if it doesn’t agree to end the war.

Speaking with NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte during a meeting at the White House, the US president said: “We’ve made a deal today where we are going to be sending them weapons, and they’re going to be paying for them.

“This is billions of dollars worth of military equipment which is going to be purchased from the United States, going to NATO, and that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield.”

Follow the latest here

It comes as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had a “very good conversation” with Mr Trump late on Monday. He thanked him for the “willingness to support Ukraine and to continue working together to stop the killings”.

Weapons being sent from to Ukraine include surface-to-air Patriot missile systems and batteries, which the country has asked for to defend itself from Russian air strikes.

Mr Trump also said he was “very unhappy” with Russia, and threatened “severe tariffs” of “about 100%” if there isn’t a deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days.

The White House added that the US would put “secondary sanctions” on countries that buy oil from Russia if an agreement was not reached.

Mr Zelenskyy previously criticised Vladimir Putin’s “desire to drag [the war] out”, and said Kyiv was “working on major defence agreements with America”.

It comes after weeks of frustration from Mr Trump over Mr Putin’s refusal to agree to an end to the conflict, with the Russian leader telling the US president he would “not back down” from Moscow’s goals in Ukraine at the start of the month.

During the briefing on Monday, Mr Trump said he had held calls with Mr Putin where he would think “that was a nice phone call”, but then “missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city, and that happens three or four times”.

“I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy,” he added.

Earlier this year, Mr Trump told Mr Zelenskyy “you’re gambling with World War Three” in a fiery White House meeting, and suggested Ukraine started the war against Russia as he sought to negotiate an end to the conflict.

After Mr Trump’s briefing, Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev said on Telegram: “If this is all that Trump had in mind to say about Ukraine today, then all the steam has gone out.”

Meanwhile, Mr Zelenskyy met with US special envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv, where they “discussed the path to peace” by “strengthening Ukraine’s air defence, joint production, and procurement of defence weapons in collaboration with Europe”.

He thanked both the envoy for the visit and Mr Trump “for the important signals of support and the positive decisions for both our countries”.

World

Trump announces weapons deal with NATO to help Ukraine – as he gives Putin 50-day ultimatum

Published

1 day ago

July 14, 2025

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Trump announces weapons deal with NATO to help Ukraine - as he gives Putin 50-day ultimatum

Donald Trump has agreed to send “top of the line weapons” to NATO to support Ukraine – and threatened Russia with “severe” tariffs if it doesn’t agree to end the war.

Speaking with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte during a meeting at the White House, the US president said: “We’ve made a deal today where we are going to be sending them weapons, and they’re going to be paying for them.

“This is billions of dollars worth of military equipment which is going to be purchased from the United States,” he added, “going to NATO, and that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield.”

Follow the latest here

Weapons being sent include surface-to-air Patriot missile systems and batteries, which Ukraine has asked for to defend itself from Russian air strikes.

Mr Trump also said he was “very unhappy” with Russia, and threatened “severe tariffs” of “about 100%” if there isn’t a deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days.

The White House added that the US would put “secondary sanctions” on countries that buy oil from Russia if an agreement was not reached.

It comes after weeks of frustration from Mr Trump against Vladimir Putin’s refusal to agree to an end to the conflict, with the Russian leader telling the US president he would “not back down” from Moscow’s goals in Ukraine at the start of the month.

During the briefing on Monday, Mr Trump said he had held calls with Mr Putin where he would think “that was a nice phone call,” but then “missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city, and that happens three or four times”.

“I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy,” he added.

Earlier this year, Mr Trump told Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy “you’re gambling with World War Three” in a fiery White House meeting, and suggested Ukraine started the war against Russia as he sought to negotiate an end to the conflict.

After Mr Trump’s briefing, Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev said on Telegram: “If this is all that Trump had in mind to say about Ukraine today, then all the steam has gone out.”

He thanked both the envoy for the visit and Mr Trump “for the important signals of support and the positive decisions for both our countries”.

World

At least 30 dead and 100 injured as armed groups clash in Syria, officials say

Published

2 days ago

July 14, 2025

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At least 30 dead and 100 injured as armed groups clash in Syria, officials say

At least 30 people have been killed in the Syrian city of Sweida in clashes between local military groups and tribes, according to Syria’s interior ministry.

Officials say initial figures suggest around 100 people have also been injured in the city, where the Druze faith is one of the major religious groups.

The interior ministry said its forces will directly intervene to resolve the conflict, which the Reuters news agency said involved fighting between Druze gunmen and Bedouin Sunni tribes.

It marks the latest episode of sectarian violence in Syria, where fears among minority groups have increased since Islamist-led rebels toppled President Bashar al Assad in December, installing their own government and security forces.

The violence reportedly erupted after a wave of kidnappings, including the abduction of a Druze merchant on Friday on the highway linking Damascus to Sweida.

Last April, Sunni militia clashed with armed Druze residents of Jaramana, southeast of Damascus, and fighting later spread to another district near the capital.

But this is the first time the fighting has been reported inside the city of Sweida itself, the provincial capital of the mostly Druze province.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reports the fighting was centred in the Maqwas neighbourhood east of Sweida and villages on the western and northern outskirts of the city.

It adds that Syria’s Ministry of Defence has deployed military convoys to the area.

Western nations, including the US and UK, have been increasingly moving towards normalising relations with Syria.

Concerns among minority groups have intensified following the killing of hundreds of Alawites in March, in apparent retaliation for an earlier attack carried out by Assad loyalists.

That was the deadliest sectarian flare-up in years in Syria, where a 14-year civil war ended with Assad fleeing to Russia after his government was overthrown by rebel forces.

The city of Sweida is in southern Syria, about 24 miles (38km) north of the border with Jordan.