Missing Titanic submarine

[Twinklesgolden]

How horrifying that a submarine carrying 5 people has gone missing. Apparently there’s only 96 hours of air on the submarine when it sets off.

The people on board must be terrified!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65953872.amp

Without sounding stupid or uncaring, why would you go down to the titanic wreck on something which hasn't any windows either ?? I don't see the point, you could see it from a screen above water surely ?

It has a porthole.

Aside from the construction to withstand the pressure, I’m mainly staggered by the lack of tech

I don't get it either. Sounds like the Fast Show take on virtual reality: "Isn't virtual reality brilliant? It's exactly like reality, only you wear a hat." This Titanic experience sounds exactly like watching it on TV except that you get to risk your life while doing it.

It's still horrible beyond imagining, and I am hoping desperately that they make it to the surface and get spotted. The thought of the Pakistani guy and his 19yo son is especially painful to think of.

i wouldn’t call it a fun crazy tourist destination, i think the people paying 250k for a trip like this are probably just genuinely interested in the titanic and want to learn more about it. it’s a bit different

Are you on glue? It's probably a cubic area the size of Wales, 1000m deep

Are you on glue? Wales is not 1 km x 1 km.l op

Igneococcus · Yesterday 21:00

I've been to the seafloor at 2000 m in Alvin, the US research sub, and Alvin (at least the old version, there is a new one now) carries weights that it releases in order to resurface. I assume this sub has that option too.

I work in the marine survey industry and we do surveys with ROVs (tethered remotely operated vehicles) and AUVs (untethered autonomous underwater vehicles). Both have neutral buoyancy and the AUVs carry clump weights, which can be ditched, if something goes wrong.

I assume that the submersible has either clump weights, or ballast tanks, which can be filled with compressed air, as a minimum safety measure. I was on one job when and ROV tether broke, in 600m of water and it took 12 hours to float to the surface.

Nah, judging by the people on it they’re eccentric billionaires ticking off bucket list stuff. It’s a horrible way to die but they signed a waiver and you’d hope were intelligent enough to read it and understand it first. Hopefully this disaster stops this unethical ‘tourism’ company and no lives are lost from anyone else in the search / rescue mission.

The Titanic has long fascinated me, apparently fewer people have seen the wreck than have been to space.
Really hoping that the submersible is found safe and sound but it does all sound very ominous.

Ok so if they were at Titanic depth it could take a couple of days to float back up??

Thanks @YoSof and @notimagain for replying.

Horrible to think it's so small in comparison you could technically miss it. Here's hoping if it has resurfaced, it hasn't gone too far.

This. ^ I've just been chatting to my teen about it and they couldn't believe it's piloted using a Playstation controller – and not even a PS5 one!

They are using multiple aircraft to scan the surface and dropping sonar detectors (I don’t think that’s the correct term!) that pick up sound.

I hope they surface and out found safely, and that expeditions like this are never allowed to happen again.

And are*

This def shouldn’t be allowed, for many reasons but this will be a very expensive recovery mission

Doesn't sound positive that they will even be able to mount a rescue operation even if they find the submarine on the sea bed from what I've read. Sounds like a horrific situation. Gets my claustrophobia anxiety going even thinking about what they might be going through.

Hopefully the agencies involved will be able to recharge the company that sells these trips and they will go bust

I would love to see the safety case for this. It looks like from that earlier article that they got lost last year too. It says that that part of the ocean is ‘unregulated’ does that mean people can just do whatever they like? Whatever the outcome, things like this need to be stopped as they are just not safe.

I really hope they are all found alive.

The BBC is loving all this !
Constant repeating of what little information they have on a loop

It's very unlikely anyone is on glue

Who pays for this extensive rescue operation?? Must be costing squillions.

illiterato · Today 07:54

Ok so if they were at Titanic depth it could take a couple of days to float back up??

I guess so, if they only have a passive system, but it would be much quicker, if they have ballast tanks, with can be filled with air.

Has Elon musk got any ideas?

Someone might be

The wreck is 3800m deep

Well I'm not. I just didn't know much about submarines