Titanic sub search: Hunt for missing vessel turns critical as former passenger describes vessel’s ‘issues’
Oxygen on the missing Titanic submersible is expected to run out in hours, with hopes of finding the five people on board starting to fade.
The vessel, named Titan, lost communication with tour operators on Sunday while about 435 miles south of St John’s, Newfoundland, during a voyage to the Titanic shipwreck off the coast of Canada.
Ships, planes and underwater craft have been deployed to the area with rescuers 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).
Titanic sub search – live: Oxygen supply dwindling rapidly
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How might Titan be found?
The US Coast Guard has been leading an international rescue effort, which was stepped up after underwater noises were heard on Tuesday and again on Wednesday, although experts have been unable to determine the cause of the sounds.
According to OceanGate, Titan’s operator, the 6.7m-long (22ft) OceanGate Expeditions vessel which has British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding on board, has a 96-hour oxygen supply in case of emergencies.
Also in the undersea craft are 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.
A former passenger on one of Titan’s maiden voyages told Sky News on Thursday he ultimately “decided to back off” from the Titanic dive project as he “couldn’t get comfortable with the design”.
US explorer Josh Gates described how there were system errors during his journey on the submersible in a “shakedown dive” in 2021 with Mr Rush.
“I would say that some of the systems on board performed very well. Some of them didn’t perform well at all. We had issues with thrusters, we had issues with computer control aboard,” he said.
(Clockwise from top left) Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Stockton Rush, Hamish Harding, Suleman Dawood and Shahzada Dawood
Key points:
• Mission to find vessel enters a new phase of urgency with the final few hours of oxygen left on board
• OceanGate’s US-based chief executive Stockton Rush, French submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet and Britons – billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding, businessman Shahzada Dawood, and his son Suleman Dawood are on the sub
• The US coast guard is leading an international rescue effort, with a vast area of the Atlantic Ocean off the Canadian coastline being searched
• Rescuers have rushed more ships, planes and vessels to the site of the disappearance, hoping underwater sounds they have been detecting for days might help narrow their search
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Missing sub: ‘It takes a lot of courage’
No other sub like Titan in the world
The US Coast Guard predicts the oxygen supply in the Titan submersible will run out at 12.08pm UK time today.
An extensive search and rescue operation is continuing, as those involved say they will “hold on hope until the very end”.
One of the vessels sent to help search efforts is French research vessel L’Atalante which carries a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), Victor 6000.
It has the capability to lift the Titan ship to the surface.
Asked whether the mission was changing to become a recovery search, Captain Jamie Frederick of the US Coast Guard told reporters: “This is a search and rescue mission, 100%, we are smack dab in the middle of search and rescue and will continue to put every available asset that we have in an effort to find the Titan and the crew members.”
Even those who have expressed optimism have warned many obstacles remain: from pinpointing Titan’s location, to reaching it with rescue equipment, then bringing it to the surface – assuming it is still intact.
All this has to happen before the passengers’ oxygen supply runs out.
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Ex-Titan passenger: ‘It was not safe’
Read more:
Passenger who took 2021 trip to see Titanic says sub ‘was not safe’
Fate of missing Titan submersible’s passengers may rest on one man
Number of ‘unknowns and mysteries’ about sub
There is no other vehicle like Titan anywhere in the world – it is a one-off, said Mr Gates.
He said Titan is described in the waivers as an “experimental craft” and added “it is truly experimental in a very real sense of the word”.
“It is like being a test pilot on a plane that has never ever flown before, and so there is a totally different category of risk with a vehicle like this,” he said.
“There are a huge number of unknowns with a submersible like this… You have an innovative, novel design, but it comes with a lot of mysteries in terms of how it is going to perform over time.”
Mr Gates said the fact that Titan apparently has not surfaced despite being “well off the bottom” when contact was lost at the weekend opens up questions over what else may have gone wrong.
One such possibility is a hull failure, which “speaks to the carbon fibre design of Titan”, Mr Gates said.
He added that though the time period for a rescue is closing, “we should remain hopeful here for a positive outcome for this”.
Mr Gates also touched on some online criticism of the passengers for boarding the experimental craft at a high cost, saying there have been “a lot of callous comments”.
He said Titanic has “fascinated the world” since she sank a century ago and the shipwreck holds “a real fascination for people”.
“It takes a lot of courage and determination to go on a voyage like this,” he said, adding that he “commended” the five men aboard Titan for having the “passion and determination” to embark on the deep-sea trek.
US president-elect Donald Trump has suggested Israel and Hamas could agree a Gaza ceasefire by the end of the week.
Talks between Israeli and Hamas representatives resumed in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday, after US President Joe Biden indicated a deal to stop the fighting was “on the brink” on Monday.
A draft agreement has been sent to both sides. It includes provisions for the release of hostages and a phased Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.
Qatar says Israel and Hamas are at their “closest point” yet to a ceasefire deal.
Two Hamas officials said the group has accepted the draft agreement, with Israel still considering the deal.
An Israeli official said a deal is close but “we are not there” yet.
More than 46,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its ground offensive in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Read more:
What’s in the proposed deal?
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on beachfront cafe in Deir al Balah. Pic: Reuters
Biden hails possibility of agreement
President Biden said it would include a hostage release deal and a “surge” of aid to Palestinians, in his final foreign policy speech as president.
“So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve peace,” he said.
“The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.”
Qatari mediators have sent Israel and Hamas a draft proposal for an agreement to halt the fighting.
Analysis:
Deal might be close, but there are many unanswered questions
Pic: Reuters
Trump: ‘We’re very close’
President-elect Donald Trump has also discussed a possible peace deal during a phone interview with the Newsmax channel.
“We’re very close to getting it done and they have to get it done,” he said.
“If they don’t get it done, there’s going to be a lot of trouble out there, a lot of trouble, like they have never seen before.
“And they will get it done. And I understand there’s been a handshake and they’re getting it finished and maybe by the end of the week. But it has to take place, it has to take place.”
Read more:
Pope Francis honoured by Joe Biden
Donald Trump’s inauguration 2.0
Pic: AP
Israeli official: Former Hamas leader held up deal
Speaking on Tuesday as negotiations resumed in Qatar, an anonymous Israeli official said that an agreement was “close, but we are not there”.
They accused Hamas of previously “dictating, not negotiating” but said this has changed in the last few weeks.
“Yahya Sinwar was the main obstacle for a deal,” they added.
Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind of the 7 October attacks, led Hamas following the assassination of his predecessor but was himself killed in October last year.
Under Sinwar, the Israeli official claimed, Hamas was “not in a rush” to bring a hostage deal but this has changed since his death and since the IDF “started to dismantle the Shia axis”.
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Biden: ‘Never, never, never, ever give up’
Iran ‘weaker than it’s been in decades’
Yesterday, President Biden also hailed Washington’s support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024.
“All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades,” the president said.
Mr Biden claimed America’s adversaries were weaker than when he took office four years ago and that the US was “winning the worldwide competition”.
“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are
weaker,” he said.
“We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”
The US president is expected to give a farewell address on Wednesday.
A draft ceasefire deal on the table between Israel and Hamas would see 33 hostages set free and a phased withdrawal of IDF forces from parts of Gaza.
President Joe Biden said an agreement to stop the fighting was “on the brink” and high level negotiations between the two sides resumed in Qatar on Tuesday.
The deal would see a number of things happen in a first stage, with negotiations for the second stage beginning in the third week of the ceasefire.
It would also allow a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been devastated by more than a year of war.
Details of what the draft proposal entails have been emerging on Tuesday, reported by Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages hold photos of their loved ones during a protest on 8 January. Pic: AP
Hostages to be returned
In the first stage of the potential ceasefire, 33 hostages would be set free.
These include women (including female soldiers), children, men over the age of 50, wounded and sick.
Israel believes most of these hostages are alive but there has not been any official confirmation from Hamas.
In return for the release of the hostages, Israel would free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
People serving long sentences for deadly attacks would be included in this but Hamas fighters who took part in the 7 October attack would not be released.
An arrangement to prevent Palestinian “terrorists” from going back to the West Bank would be included in the deal, an anonymous Israeli official said.
Read more:
A timeline of events since the 7 October attacks
The hostages who still haven’t returned home
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in Beit Hanoun in Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
The agreement also includes a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, with IDF troops remaining in the border perimeter to defend Israeli border towns and villages.
Security arrangements would be implemented at the Philadelphi corridor – a narrow strip of land that runs along the border between Egypt and Gaza – with Israel withdrawing from parts of it after the first few days of the deal.
The Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza would start to work gradually to allow the crossing of people who are sick and other humanitarian cases out of Gaza for treatment.
Unarmed North Gaza residents would be allowed to return to their homes, with a mechanism introduced to ensure no weapons are moved there.
“We will not leave the Gaza Strip until all our hostages are back home,” the Israeli official said.
What will happen to Gaza in the future?
There is less detail about the future of Gaza – from how it will be governed, to any guarantees that this agreement will bring a permanent end to the war.
“The only thing that can answer for now is that we are ready for a ceasefire,” the Israeli official said.
“This is a long ceasefire and the deal that is being discussed right now is for a long one. There is a big price for releasing the hostages and we are ready to pay this price.”
The international community has said Gaza must be run by Palestinians, but there has not been a consensus about how this should be done – and the draft ceasefire agreement does not seem to address this either.
In the past, Israel has said it will not end the war leaving Hamas in power. It also previously rejected the possibility of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited governing powers in the West Bank, from taking over the administration of Gaza.
Since the beginning of its military campaign in Gaza, Israel has also said it would retain security control over the territory after the fighting ends.
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