Desperate Race Against Time as Oxygen Dwindles on Missing Titanic Submarine

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The search for a submersible that went missing en route to the Titanic wreckage site has entered a new phase of desperation as the remaining hours of oxygen on board the small vessel rapidly diminish.

In a race against time, rescuers have dispatched additional ships and vessels to the disappearance site, hoping that the underwater sounds detected for the second consecutive day will aid in narrowing down the urgent international search. However, the crew of the vessel, named the Titan, only had a four-day oxygen supply when they departed at approximately 6 a.m. on Sunday.

The extensive search area, twice the size of Connecticut, spans waters as deep as 13,200 feet (4,020 meters). Captain Jamie Frederick of the First Coast Guard District expressed optimism about the chances of rescuing the five passengers aboard.

“This is a search-and-rescue mission, 100%,” he stated on Wednesday.

The region of the North Atlantic where the Titan disappeared is notorious for fog and stormy conditions, posing a significant challenge to the ongoing search-and-rescue operation, as described by Donald Murphy, an oceanographer and former chief scientist of the Coast Guard’s International Ice Patrol.

Meanwhile, new allegations have surfaced, suggesting significant safety concerns were raised during the development of the submersible.

Frederick acknowledged that while the detected sounds provide an opportunity to narrow down the search, their precise location and source remain undetermined.

“We don’t know what they are, to be frank,” he admitted.

Retired Navy Capt. Carl Hartsfield, currently the director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Systems Laboratory, warned that search teams must consider the context and eliminate potential manmade sources other than the Titan when piecing together the information surrounding the “banging noises.”

The emergence of these sounds offers hope to experts as submarine crews are trained to create audible signals by tapping on their vessel’s hull for detection by sonar.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Navy announced its plans to deploy a specialized salvage system capable of lifting large undersea objects, such as aircraft or small vessels. The Navy’s Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System, which can handle up to 60,000 pounds (27,216 kilograms), will be used to raise the 20,000-pound (9,071 kilograms) Titan, according to a statement.

Among the passengers on board the missing vessel are pilot Stockton Rush, CEO of the expedition-leading company, a British adventurer, two members of a Pakistani business family, and a Titanic expert. OceanGate Expeditions oversaw the ill-fated mission.

The vessel, measuring 22 feet (6.7 meters) and constructed of carbon fiber, was reported overdue on Sunday night, triggering the search approximately 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s.

Officials have indicated that the vessel had a 96-hour oxygen supply, setting the deadline for rescuers to locate and retrieve the Titan between 6 a.m. (1000 GMT) and 8 a.m. (1200 GMT) on Thursday, assuming catastrophic damage has not occurred prior to that.

Submarine search-and-rescue expert Frank Owen noted that while the estimated oxygen supply provides a target for searchers, it is based on a nominal consumption amount. Owen suggested that the diver aboard the Titan would likely advise passengers to conserve metabolic levels to extend their oxygen supply.

According to letters filed with a U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Virginia, overseeing matters related to the Titanic shipwreck, at least 46 people successfully traveled to the Titanic wreck site aboard OceanGate’s submersible in 2021 and 2022.

Arthur Loibl, a retired businessman and adventurer from Germany, who made a dive to the site two years ago, described

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